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Iraqi passport law slams door on
Kurdistani women
20.8.2007
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August
20, 2007
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan region (Iraq) --
Rezan Muhammad Ali was understandably excited when
she was invited to travel from Sulaimaniyah, in
Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan, to the United
Kingdom to visit a relative.
All she needed to do was obtain an Iraqi passport so
she could travel to Jordan so she could apply for
the necessary British visa.
But her excitement quickly turned to embarrassment
when the 34-year-old woman was told that she needed
the approval of a male guardian before she could
apply for Iraqi travel documents.
"I almost cried," she said. "I'm not a child who
needs to ask a guardian's permission."
For years, authorities in the Kurdish-controlled
area in Kurdistan region of Iraq have ignored the
national law that requires women applying for a
passport to first obtain the consent of their
husband, father, uncle or brother. |
Iraqi Passport |
But in March, Iraq introduced new passports designed
with security features intended to reduce the chance
of forgery. In addition, all passports are issued by
a central authority in Baghdad.
And in Baghdad, they adhere to the letter of the law
when it comes to passport applications.
Numerous countries, including the United States, the
United Kingdom and Jordan, now only accept the
new-style passport.
Meanwhile, officials say the new passport system has
created problems for men and women alike. With only
the central office in Baghdad now able to process
passport applications, officials say they're
reluctant make the dangerous journey to the capital
to deliver the applications.
"The journey to Baghdad and the situation inside the
city are extremely dangerous," said Col. Salih
Osman, the official in charge of passports and
residency permits in Sulaimaniyah.
And since the Baghdad passport office can only
process between 250 and 350 passport applications a
month, it frequently takes weeks or months for
would-be travelers to receive their documents.
Many Iraqis have resorted to bribery to speed up the
process.
"I received my passport within two weeks after I
paid several hundred dollars," said a young man in
Sulaimaniyah who declined to allow his name to be
used.
A Kurd employed by a local nongovernmental
organization said he paid more than $1,000 to have
his passport application processed in about a week.
But it's the overt discrimination, rather than the
delays, that have Kurdish women up in arms.
Nazaneen Rasul, 45, said she was stunned when told
she needed a male guardian's consent before she
could apply for a passport to travel to Europe.
"I'm a guardian to my kids, and now I'm required to
have guardian consent for my passport," she asked.
"Why is it I cannot get a passport at this age on my
own?"
The restriction also means that women without living
male relatives, an increasingly frequent situation
in this war-ravaged country, are prohibited from
applying for passports altogether.
Nasreen Muhammad, a Kurdish women's rights activist,
said women's groups have taken their concerns to the
Iraqi parliament.
"We will never let women be degraded, and we will
continue to criticize the law until it is
abolished," she said.
Koral Tofiq is a journalist in Iraq who writes for
The Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a
non-profit organization that trains journalists in
areas of conflict. This was distributed by
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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