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Though illegal, forced marriages still common in Iraqi
Kurdistan |
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Though illegal, forced marriages still
common in Iraqi Kurdistan
4.9.2012 |
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A workshop organized by Norwegian People's Aid (NPA)
in Slemani on forced marriages, divorce and violence
against women, 2011 Photo NPA.
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September 4, 2012
ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', —
Forced marriage is a Kurdish tradition that has
decreased in recent times. Although it is forbidden
by Islam and civil law, there are still people who
practice it, despite the fact that it often causes
great tragedies.
Maj. Jilamo Abdulqadir, head of the general
directorate of follow up on violence against women
in Erbil, says, "No girl has filed a lawsuit against
her family due to a forced marriage. But we have
some cases where girls come and complain about their
families preventing them from marrying who they
choose.”
According to Abdulqaidr, the directorate has been
successful calling families and convincing them to
let their daughters choose what they want.
But he adds, "Some girls who turn to us have
problems that cannot be solved. One girl came to us
wanting to marry a man but her family would not let
her. The girl also did not want to file a lawsuit
against her family. Therefore, we could not help
her."
Research conducted by the People's Development
Association (PDA), with the assistance of the
Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), initiated an open
debate about the role of religion in fighting forced
marriages.
Forty religious teachers from different parts of
Kurdistan took part in the debate and they all
emphasized the fact that Islam prohibits forced
marriages -- considered “haram,” or sinful.
According to PDA’s research, those who are forced to
marry someone they do not want suffer from
psychological problems.
Bahar Munzir, director of PDA, has looked into
forced marriages in Norway for four years with a
Norwegian organization. "In Norway, we distributed
our phone number in public places, visited schools
and talked to students, teachers and researchers.
The Ministry of Education helped us a great deal,"
he said.
A case which illustrates the experience of some
women is that of “S.” S. was 22 years old and the
mother of two daughters. She was forced into a
marriage for six years. Two years ago, her body was
found slaughtered in an Erbil neighborhood.
A friend told Rudaw, "S. was in love with a guy who
asked for her hand twice from her family. Her family
refused to allow her to marry him and forced her to
marry a man older than her by 16 years. S. continued
to have an affair with her lover after she was
married, and she was killed for this reason."
Abdulqadir talked about S. as well, saying she had
come to the directorate with her story.
"If a woman refuses to marry an individual, it does
not mean she in love with a different person,”
Abdulqadir added. “It could just be that she does
not like the suitor."
Mullah Magdid Kareem, a Friday speech reader at the
Haji Bakir Zeringir Mosque in Erbil, said that
Sharia law has banned forced marriage and that
consent is the major requirement for a marriage.
"The prophet (PBUH) has rejected forced marriages,”
Kareem said. “A man forced his daughter to marry his
nephew. The daughter went to the prophet and
complained to him about it. The prophet dissolved
that marriage."
According to the Iraqi Civil Code, ratified in
Kurdish Parliament in 2008: "No one has the right to
force a male or female into marrying someone else.
Without the consent of one of the spouses,www.ekurd.net
the marriage is considered null unless they have had
intercourse. Violators of this law will be
imprisoned for two to five years or fined. If the
person who breaches this law is a family member,
then the sentence will be between three and 10 years
imprisonment."
Munzir believes that this law has not been
implemented in Kurdistan. "It only exists on paper.
There are women who are taken to court after their
second birth. Forced marriage is still practiced
heavily,” he said.
“If you prevent a woman from marrying someone she
wants, it’s the same as forced marriage because
another one is picked for her. There are girls who
get killed when they want marry someone they choose.
The most evident example is the teacher Mamosta
Sakar in Raniya who wanted to marry someone she
chose and got killed for it."
Mahdi Namiq, a 28-year-old teacher, says that often
girls are stopped from marrying the man they love
than being married off by force.
"Girls cannot take their parents, uncles or
relatives who prevent their marriage to court," he
said, adding "those girls who make a decision on
their own must think carefully and listen to their
parents."
By Soran Bahaddin, Rudaw
Copyright ©, respective
author or news agency,
rudaw.net
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