The Kurds are known for their resilience, peshmerga fighters, disunity and failed attempts to create an independent country in the rough mountains of their contested homeland. The time has come for the Kurdish people to tell their stories through music, art and literature, to attract the attention of the international community through their rich culture, and not just politics.

Getting access to a Kurdish novel in English is quite a feat, mainly a result of the oppression of Kurdish culture. Moreover, since the establishment of the first Kurdish parliament in 1992, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Culture has not made a concerted effort to translate Kurdish literature into English. Bakhtyar Ali’s , originally titled Ghazalnus and the Gardens of Imagination, is the first Kurdish novel into English by Kareem Abdulrahman, published by Periscope in 2016.

Novels function as a reliable medium through which societies can be analyzed and understood. The Kurdish novel — much like politics, history, business, sport and the media — was dominated by men until the 1990s. Against all odds, Qasham Ali Balata’s is the first Kurdish novel written in English by a female novelist. Originally from Duhok in Iraqi Kurdistan, Balata tackles the patriarchy and women’s struggle in the region.

In this guest edition of The Interview, Aras Ahmed Mhamad talks to Balata about the significance of literature in depicting issues facing women and their continuous struggle to achieve equality, liberty and freedom in Kurdistan.

Aras Ahmed Mhamad: Novels written in Kurdish are full of characters suffering from unfulfilled sexual drives and unresolved erotic conflicts. But in Run Away to Nowhere, there is almost no depiction of sensual portrayal of female physicality or sexual intercourse. Did you self-censor while writing the novel?

Qasham Ali Balata: I did not face any sort of self-censorship while writing my novel. I didn’t want to follow the path that makes women a cheap product or an object for marketing. I didn’t think any of that was necessary to serve the plot. I think the joy of writing is when the writer is free to put whatever he or she wants to write about.

Mhamad: Nareen, the female protagonist, is almost flawless. There are other almost perfect female characters in Run Away to Nowhere, like Aishe, Befreen, Buhar, Zeinab and Jihan. Is this impeccable depiction of Kurdish women a response to patriarchal mentality or a rebellion against female oppression?

Balata: I don’t think that my characters are flawless or perfect. They have their ups and downs. For example, Nareen is very real but at the same time very simple and not as deep as Karwan or Buhar. All she cares about is her future with Karwan. Befreen gets married to someone she doesn’t know well and eventually gets a divorce. Aishe always complains about her father, and when he gets lost, she feels guilty. Jihan feels guilty and thinks that she is not a good mother because she left her two kids in Duhok while she was studying in Mosul. None of them is perfect because I believe there are no perfect human beings.

Regarding the second part of this question, I see that the impeccable depiction of Kurdish women is not just a response to patriarchal mentality, but it is a response to all social traditions as well as being a way of showing strength and resiliency toward all difficulties of life. Let’s not forget it was a true description of a Kurdish woman in the last part of the 20th century.

Mhamad:  Karwan and Nareen are intensely in love, and their love story drives the plot. But Karwan decides to choose Kurdistan over Nareen and is killed in the fight defending his city, Duhok. Nareen decides to spend the rest of her life unmarried, though people ask for her hand. Would Karwan have chosen Nareen’s destiny if he were alive? Who is the true victim, Karwan or Nareen?

Balata: As a matter of fact, I can say both Nareen and Karwan are victims of war and society. I think it is a personal decision for anybody to get married or not after the death of a lover, but in Nareen’s case I think she has her beautiful memories with Karwan. Also, she has her inner peace. Plus she is a hard worker and has her family, students and a group of nice friends. In reality, you can find many women who decide not to get married after the death of their husbands, and sometimes their lovers. I don’t think Karwan would stay unmarried if he was alive and Nareen was dead because very few Kurdish men stay unmarried after the death of their wives or lovers — almost none.

Mhamad: Women are seen as the embodiment of honor. Physical and emotional abuse, female marginalization and male hegemony are everywhere in the novel. In the past, mountain law and honor law replaced court law. These days, political parties have established tribal “social institutions” (mektebi komelayeti) to replace the courthouse. How would you comment on this?

Balata: I do agree that women are seen as the embodiment of honor. Physical and emotional abuse, female marginalization and male hegemony are rampant in my novel because this is the reality of Kurdish society, especially at the time of my novel, which is 1991-1992, and before that time.

I’m personally against mountain law, honor law, tribal law and mektebi komelayeti, and my point of view is very clear in chapter three about how much I’m against tribes and [tribal leaders]. I think Kurdish society is still not coping with the rest of the world because of the tribes.

I’m with the strong and just governance through the three branches of government, especially the judicial branch, where the role of law is dominant.

Mhamad: “Passionate,” “kind-hearted,” “soft,” “caring” — these adjectives are usually attributed to women. Do you think this kind of repetitive word choice can define an appropriate image of women? What kind of political damage can this do when, for example, elections are held? How can women transform themselves from voiceless victims to social and political activists?

Balata: I totally believe that women are and should be passionate, kind-hearted, soft and caring. These humane characteristics are very appropriate to define a woman and her image because it reflects her true nature and complies with her role as a mother, wife and as a solid base for any society.

Do these characteristics mean that she is the weakest link in the society? Not at all, because true politics is based on passion, love, peace and humanism. When you are passionate for your land and people you can make a very successful politician and leader because you can achieve the ultimate goal of politics, which is the welfare of your people. History gave us a very good example of a passionate leader such as [Mahatma] Gandhi. At the same time we have examples of strong, fearless, cold-hearted leaders who destroyed their country, shamed their people and wasted the wealth of the [nation] in conflicts and corruption.

Therefore, women can change from voiceless victims to social and political activists by spreading the message of love and passion for everything good in this region. Also, they can change the typical image of women when they start to believe in themselves as strong social forces and refuse to accept any political view just because they were raised in a family that believed in that view. A woman needs to make her own mind about every single matter and shape her views out of love and passion for her cause.

Mhamad: “Politics is a man’s game. So is writing.” This is a common belief in Kurdistan, Iraq and across the Middle East. What are the most notable changes in Kurdish society in recent years regarding women?

Balata: Regarding Kurdish society, things have changed, but not as we expected. We thought that if one day we became free we will make huge differences in every aspect of our Kurdish society, but unfortunately none of that happened — and the main reason is corruption and struggle among political parties.

Regarding Kurdish women — she looks very stylish and modern these days. There is some progress and change in her thinking too, but she still has very little involvement in issues regarding society, and of course we cannot stereotype a whole group of people because there are always individual differences. I believe any changes in Kurdish society and Kurdish women occurred mainly because of the influence of globalization and revolution of communication technology. Therefore, some people just imitate what is happening around the world and don’t act out of the need of our society. No serious changes are planned by the government or social institutions.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect 51łÔąĎ’s editorial policy.

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Optimists see hopeful signs that the Middle East may be exiting from a dark tunnel of violence, civil war, sectarian strife and debilitating regional rivalries. The Islamic State (IS) is on the cusp of territorial defeat in Syria and Iraq, Saudi Arabia may be groping for an exit from its devastating military intervention in Yemen, and Gulf states are embarking on economic and social reform aimed at preparing for the end of oil. Haltingly, countries in the Gulf may be forced to find a face-saving solution to the Qatar crisis, and there may even be an effort to dial down tension between the Riyadh and Tehran. , the Islamist faction that controls Gaza, has also said it is willing to negotiate with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about joint rule of the strip and move toward long overdue elections.

At first glance, these are reasons for optimism. But don’t hold your breath. Optimists base their hopes on shifting sands and tentative suggestions that protagonists may be looking for ways out of the malaise. Yet none of the indicators involve actions that would tackle root causes of the Middle East’s multiple conflicts and problems. In fact, some of the solutions being tossed around amount to little more than window dressing, while others set the stage for a next phase of conflict and strife.

Talks between the feuding Palestinian factions have repeatedly failed. It is not even clear if Hamas would put pen to paper, as any deal would mean putting its armed wing under Abbas’ control — a key demand of the Palestinian president that the Islamists have so far rejected. It also remains to be seen how Israel would respond. Together with the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Israelis see Hamas as a terrorist organization.

KURDISH INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM

Beyond Palestine, the contours of future conflict are already discernible. If Myanmar’s Rohingya are the 21st-century’s rallying cry of the Muslim world, the Kurds could be one of its major fault lines. Disputes over territory, power and resources between and among Sunnis, Shias and Kurds that fueled the rise of IS in Iraq are resurfacing with its demise. In a twist of irony, a  in April showed that Sunnis were for the first time more positive about Iraq’s future than the country’s majority Shias.

 in the north destroyed in the fight against the Islamic State is key to maintaining a semblance of Iraqi unity. With no signs of massive reconstruction gaining momentum, old wounds that have driven insurgencies for more than a decade could reignite IS in new forms. “All the writing is on the wall that there will be another ISIS,” said the former Iraqi foreign minister and Kurdish politician, Hoshyar Zebari, referring to the group by another of its acronyms.

The initial flash in the pan threatens to be the fact that Iraqi Kurds are certain to vote for independence in a unilateral referendum scheduled for September 25. If the independence issue did not provide enough explosives in and of itself, the Kurds’ insistence on including in the referendum the ethnically mixed, oil-rich city of Kirkuk and adjacent areas have further fueled the fire. The referendum and the dispute over Kirkuk reopen the question of what Iraqi Kurdistan’s borders are even if the Kurds opt not to act immediately on a vote for independence and to remain part of an Iraqi federation for the time being.

The issue could blow a further hole into . Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has denounced the referendum. His efforts to persuade the Iraqi parliament to fire the Kirkuk governor, Najmaldin Karim, for backing the poll, as well as calls for parliament to withdraw confidence in Iraqi President Fuad Masum and sack ministers and other senior officials of Kurdish descent could push the Kurds over the edge.

Iraqi military officials and Iranian-backed Shia militias that are aligned with the army have vowed to prevent the referendum from being held in Kirkuk. “Kirkuk belongs to Iraq. We would by no means give up on Kirkuk even if this were to cause major bloodshed,” said , an Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militia. A possible fight may not be contained to Kirkuk. Kurdish and Iraqi government forces are vying for control of areas from which IS has been driven out, which stretch westward along the length of northern Iraq. Abadi has warned that he would  if the referendum, which he described as unconstitutional, provoked violence.

Add to that the ganging up on the Kurds by Iran, Turkey and the US. Washington backs the Iraqi government even if it was the one that put Kurdistan on course toward independence, when it allowed the autonomous enclave to emerge under a protective no-fly zone that kept the forces of Saddam Hussein at bay. Breaking with the US and its Arab allies,  has endorsed Kurdish independence.

Hakan Fidan, the Turkish intelligence chief, and Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Al Quds Force, have warned the Kurds on visits to Iraqi Kurdistan to back away from the referendum. Iran has threatened to close its borders with the region. Describing the referendum as “a matter of national security,”  said that “no one should have doubt that we will take all the necessary steps in this matter.” Turkey fears that Kurdish independence would spur secessionist aspirations among its own Kurds, who account for up to 20% of its population, and that an independent Kurdistan would harbor Turkish Kurdish insurgents already operating in the region.

Abadi has alluded to possible  to prevent the emergence of an independent Kurdistan by suggesting that the referendum would be “a public invitation to the countries in the region to violate Iraqi borders … The Turks are very angry about it because they have a large Kurdish population inside Turkey and they feel that their national security is threatened because it is a huge problem for them. And, of course, the Iranians are on the same line,” the Iraqi prime minister said.

The Kurdish quest for some form of self-rule is likely to manifest itself in Syria too. The US backs  in its fight against IS. The militia that prides itself on its female fighters is among the forces besieging the IS capital of Raqqa.

The Kurds are hoping that an end to the war in Syria will leave them with an Iraq-style autonomous region on the Turkish border — an aspiration that Turkey, like in Iraq, vehemently opposes. As the target of strikes by the Turkish air force, the Kurds hope to benefit from the force’s shortage of pilots following mass purges in the wake of last year’s failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In August, the air force ordered all  to report for service.

The Kurds may provide the first flashpoint for another round of volatility and violence, but they are not the only ones. Nor are sectarian and other ethnic divisions that are likely to wrack Iraq and Syria, once the current round of fighting subsides.

LOOKING AT THE GULF

Eager to find a face-saving exit from its ill-fated invasion of Yemen that has pushed the country to the edge of the abyss, Saudi Arabia will have to cope with a populous country on its border, many of whose citizens harbor deep-seated anger at the devastation and human suffering caused by the Saudis that will take years to reverse.

Similarly, the rift between Qatar and an alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE is likely to leave deep-seated scars that will hamper integration among the six states that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Middle East’s only functioning regional bloc prior to the crisis. A failure in talks between Qatar and its detractors, mediated by US President Donald Trump — even before they got started — suggest that a resolution to the diplomatic standoff is nowhere in sight.

Coping with the fallout of the crisis and the Yemen War simply adds to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s woes as he prepares to, at some point, succeed his ailing father, King Salman. Prince Mohammed, who is popular among the country’s youth in expectation of economic and social change, has had to backtrack on some of his promised changes.  as they head for the exit rather than explore new opportunities.

In addition, Prince Mohammed has signaled concern about opposition to his proposed reforms within the royal family, determination to avoid political change and a willingness to rule with an iron fist.  in recent weeks, while dissenting members of the Saud family have been put under house arrest.

The optimistic view may be that the Middle East is six years into an era of political, economic and social change. If historic yardsticks are applicable, that amounts to one-third of a process of transition that can take up to quarter of a century to work itself out. There is little reason to believe that the next third will be any less volatile or violent.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect 51łÔąĎ’s editorial policy.

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The prospect of Kurdistan as a homeland for the Kurds began with the colonial division of western Asia, which followed World War I. With the breakup of the Middle East that created new borders in the Levant, the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920 betrayed promises to give the Kurds their own state.

The Scattered Lands of Kurdistan

Since then, Kurdistan has come to be recognized across the borders of four different countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran and Turkey — different Kurdish regions, yet with the same problems throughout the last century.

The fight for Kurdish rights has always been a problem for those Kurds willing to use their own language, which is often banned in state institutions. This is just one aspect of repression that Kurds face in their demand for autonomy and historical recognition.

Today, a part of Kurdistan lies within Turkey, where a ceasefire was agreed upon between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in early 2013. The conflict in Turkey has lasted for over 30 years, resulting in approximately 40,000 deaths.

The Kurds in the Middle East have adopted different strategies. The PKK opted for guerrilla warfare to prevent the Turkish Army from trampling on Kurdish rights. In Syria, after the uprising in 2011, which turned into a civil war, the Kurds were able to establish a higher degree of self-organization in the predominantly Kurdish parts of the country by building new institutions such as hospitals and schools.

The Kurds in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan or northeastern Syria) have achieved a certain degree of emancipation from Assad’s regime, but are forced to fight against rebel groups such as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra.

In Iran, there even existed a Kurdish Republic from 1946-47. After its demise, a long period of repression against the Kurds began. Today, Kurds in Iran enjoy cultural benefits since they are allowed to write and publish in the Kurdish language. Nevertheless, the political problems have not been resolved.

After many years of popular struggle against Saddam Hussein’s regime, Iraqi Kurds carved out an autonomous region and a parliament, officially part of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq.

During my recent journey, I crossed three parts of Kurdistan to create a first-hand account of the territory, which is important for the region’s contemporary geopolitics and human rights struggle. I traveled along the borders of Iraq, Turkey and Syria.

PKK Fighters: How a Guerrilla Lives

My first stop was Iraqi Kurdistan. One night, I was getting ready to meet several Kurdish guerilla fighters camped out in the Qandil Mountains. I passed through countless inspections by the Iraqi Army and soon, almost every sign of human life seemed to have disappeared. I didn’t know where I was exactly, I just knew I was very close to the Iranian border.

Finally, I reached the Kurdish outpost. Following further security routines, I could finally leave my pick-up. After spending one night at their camp, where I slept in a small, concealed hut, at 5:30am I began my day, following two guerrilla fighters: a man and a woman. These people have chosen to dedicate their lives to the Kurdish struggle.

I conducted several interviews with them, which took place both in military training areas and in sites used for studying. The guerillas placed great emphasis on issues such as feminism and environmentalism. I talked with them about the guerrillas’ personal lives, what they missed from their old lifestyle and what, instead, is essential and indefeasible about their life in the mountains. They also discussed the Middle East’s political issues and gave their opinion about the “crisis” of the ceasefire with the Turkish government.

A guerrilla fighter told me: “We want the Kurdish, the Turkish and the Arabs to live side by side in all the countries of the Middle East, just like they do in Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey. So, you see, we don’t want to overpower other communities and create a Kurdistan supreme.”

The woman I spoke to grew up in a Kurdish family in Germany, but every summer used to go back to Turkey where she suffered different forms of humiliation and discrimination. She believes that Europe has accepted the Turkish oppression of the Kurds.

Looking for a way to counter this repression, during one of her summer holidays spent in Turkey’s Kurdish regions, she decided to climb Qandil and joined the guerrillas’ fight.

Meanwhile, the man has been living in the Qandil Mountains since 1995. He said he does not trust the negotiation process with Turkey. He is worried that it will lower the attention toward the conflict, which could carry dangerous consequences.

The journey into the guerrillas’ world continued along the bunkers used for medical assistance, up to a hospital built by the PKK, but only for use by civilians living around Qandil.

Here I met Medya, a German volunteer doctor, who has decided to support the Kurdish fight with her knowledge. Medya doesn’t want to go back to Germany, since its government does not recognize the Kurdish struggle and labels the PKK a terrorist group. In contrast, she considers the PKK to be a party that fights for freedom.

In the hospital with around 60 beds, Medya and a few volunteers are in charge of surgeries for the civilians of the area.

After leaving the guerrillas in the Qandil Mountains, my trip continued over the lands of Iraqi Kurdistan to reach one of the places where, during the 1990s, some Kurds, escaping from mass repression in Turkey, found refuge in Mahmura, a province of Mosul which is located in Iraqi Kurdistan.

In the past this was only a desert and a few tents; but now, 14 years later, the camp has become part of daily life for refugees. The people living there have transformed their unstable situation and temporary set-up into something normal, with stable habitations and even self-organized elections.

Escaping From Syria

Afterward, I decided to continue my journey inside Iraqi Kurdistan, which is where new perspectives and dreams for all Kurdish people hope to be realized, since it has become an autonomous region. This area has recently become a shelter for many fleeing the Syrian Civil War. Six refugee camps are located there, accommodating Syrians who have managed to escape the violence. In essence, the Kurds of Iraq are helping the Kurds of Syria.

In Bardarash, Mosul province, refugees are welcomed and babies are born, but people die as well. Everybody is waiting, hoping for better — this is the life of a refugee.

I traveled to the enormous refugee camp near the city of Domiz in Iraqi Kurdistan. For decades, the Assad regime of both father and son had ignored the hardships of the Kurds, scoffing at them.

On many occasions, the Syrian government has refused to grant basic rights such as education, health care and identity cards to the Kurdish people. With the outbreak of the Syrian revolution and the civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad finally made some concessions to the Kurds and gave some of them citizenship.

The Kurds in Syria have survived the chaos of the recent upheavals, established a network, and eventually taken control of the cities they were allowed into.

However, just when the Kurds had resolved their issues with the Syrian Army, new threats were posed by various factions within the rebel ranks — by jihadists, smugglers and mercenaries, all involved in the effort of opposing Assad’s regime.

In Domiz, I was able to meet Edrees N. Salih, the director of Domiz camp. In our conversation, he denounced the lack of aid from the international community.

Oil, Autonomy and Interests: Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Kurdistan is very rich thanks to the oil that the region sells to foreign companies like Chevron. When I was there, I visited the autonomous parliament, where I talked to Aso Kareem, an MP from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

He discussed the relationship between Kurdish rights and the economy of the region, arguing that it is important not to disturb the building of a gas pipeline between Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey. Moreover, despite the presence of PKK fighters in the region, the Kurdish Iraqi government does not have official contact with the guerrillas, whilst it has strong commercial relations with Turkey. Indeed, the Kurdish struggle has its own logic and inner challenges.

The Heritage of Colonialism and Turbulent Borders

I left the Kurdish Iraqi landscapes and headed to the Syrian-Turkish border. The place is emblematic of the colonial division of Nusaybin (in Turkey) and Qamishlo (in Syria), which used to be one city during the Ottoman-era.

The Syrian War, that has dramatically affected the lives of Kurds in Syria, has also had strong reverberations on those Kurds who live on the other side of the border, in Southeast Turkey.

In Nusaybin, I witnessed how the city’s mayor, AyĹźe Gökkan, was about to start her hunger strike to protest against the Turkish government’s construction of a wall along the Turkish-Syrian border. The mayor claimed it would sharply affect the solidarity relations with Kurds across the border and also prevent the delivery of aid to the suffering Syrian population. Despite her protests, the wall was built.

In this city, right at the border of Syria, I was also able to meet Abdulbari Eren, head of the local section of the Kurdish political movement, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). He talked very enthusiastically about a new life for Kurds who live in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan) and their capacity to self-organize their society by building new institutions such as hospitals and schools.

He also pointed out that, despite their emancipation from Assad’s regime, Syrian Kurds are forced to fight against Jabhat al-Nusra.

We Want Kurdish

The last step was again a trip inside Kurdish territory. I traveled to “the capital” of Turkish Kurdistan: Diyarbakir. In the streets, I spoke to three young men: two lawyers and a journalist — meaningful jobs for the protection of human rights in Turkey.

Sitting on a bench, the young lawyer explained his stance toward the ceasefire between the Turkish government and the PKK. To him, the PKK took the first step and tried to respect the agreement by withdrawing its fighters from the borders.

The lawyer was certain that this time the public’s reaction would be very optimistic in comparison with the past because, all in all, what people ultimately want is an answer to the Kurdish question. He said: “Maybe today there aren’t the same casualties of the past, but people are killed anyway. We need to keep working in order to find a durable solution.”

The two other men focused on the hard life of a community that strives to achieve their rights. First and foremost, language remains a big issue. While in the past it was forbidden to speak the Kurdish language even in daily life, today it is possible to speak it in the streets but still not in hospitals, courts and schools.

They reminisced about their adolescence when one of them had been arrested because he owned a Kurdish record. All of them do not agree with the package of proposals the Turkish government presented during the last negotiations.

One point of contention is that Kurdish-language lessons are only available in some private schools:

“During my education, why can I learn [the] Turkish language and not Kurdish? As a second language we can learn English [and] French, but the courses for the Kurdish language are forbidden. We want to study Turkish and other languages, but above all we would like to enjoy Kurdish courses.”

This last encounter in Diyarbakir, at the end of my journey across Kurdistan, has reinforced my awareness that there still is a long-road ahead for Kurdish rights.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect 51łÔąĎ’s editorial policy.

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It appears there are two ways to depict life in Iraqi Kurdistan. Western journalists covering the area commonly invoke the region’s new luxury hotels and airports as symbols of its progress and prosperity. On the other hand, however, local journalists who document the corrupt deals behind the business boom report receiving death threats regularly, while some have been murdered for their work.  

Kawa Garmyani, a reporter for the weekly  and editor of Rayal Magazine, was shot and killed in front of his home in Kalar City on the night of December 5, 2013. He had covered corruption by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and had reportedly filed several lawsuits after being threatened.  

It has been widely reported by Kurdish media that Garmyani had been threatened by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) politburo member Mahmud Sangawi, who allegedly failed to appear at a court hearing concerning the incident.

An audio file of an alleged telephone conversation between Garmyani and Sangawi , exposing an exchange where Sangawi appears to be threatening to kill the journalist. A Kalar Court issued an arrest warrant for Sangawi, who has been sued by the Garmyani family. Sangawi was arrested ahead of his appearance in court.

Garmyani’s death — along with the earlier murders of journalists Soran Mama Hama and Sardasht Othman and the 2011 killing of demonstrators in Sulaimaniyah — raises serious questions about the KRG’s claim to be a pillar of democracy in the Middle East and a model for the rest of Iraq.

Further Attacks on Journalists

On the evening of October 26, 2013, in Sulaymaniya, gunmen in a gray unlicensed BMW shot and wounded Shaswar Abdulwahid, hitting him in his right leg. Abdulwahid is the owner of , the first independent Kurdish satellite station in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. No investigations have been carried out to date.

“I am not a politician or a famous figure in politics in the KRG. I have no private connections with any politicians or political parties,” Abdulwahid stated. “The only reason that they wanted to kill me is my ownership of Nalia TV, as we have been facing many other terrible events in the past three years.” 

It was the second time that Nalia TV had been the target of attack by unknown assailants. In the first incident, which took place on February 17, 2011, Nalia’s facilities were set on fire. The attack occurred on the first day of , in which ten people were killed and 500 injured by security and Peshmerga (Kurdish armed forces).

Abdulwahid underscored that the attempt to kill him was actually an attempt to “silence his TV.” He said: “The court has issued arrest papers for the [perpetrators], but they are still free [because] they may be above the government or rule [of law].” Wary of the KRG’s judiciary, Abdulwahid said he is working with lawyers on possibly finding an international venue for his case. 

The damage to Nalia TV’s facilities was estimated at $10 million. Abdulwahid said he was promised compensation, but there has been no independent investigation or processing of any claims. 

 in Iraqi Kurdistan has experienced dark times in the past. In July 2008, , an independent Kurdish journalist, was shot and killed in Kirkuk.

Two years later, in May 2010, another journalist, , was abducted and murdered in Erbil. Othman was a journalist who wrote investigative pieces about corruption in the KRG’s ruling parties, in particular the KDP and its tribal structure. Yet the case has not been adequately investigated.

According to documentation assembled by  in the Kurdistan region, in the past 11 months more than 200 violations have been recorded, most of them during the campaign for parliamentary elections last September.

Iraqi Kurdistan: A Thriving Democracy?

Many have praised the KRG’s thriving democracy. But during the political unrest, the security apparatus treated journalists harshly. Kamaran Muhammad, spokesman for the Zar (Mouth) Group for Defending Freedom of Speech, questioned how democratic the region actually is, arguing that the KRG’s treatment of journalists should be judged on the security forces’ response to them during coverage of riots, election campaigns, and sensitive issues.

In May 2013, Metro Center, an organization defending human rights and freedom of speech, criticized the KRG for 40 recorded violations in just four months: “Believing in  cannot be carried out only by words; [the] KRG should act.” The center recorded 61  surrounding the September elections.

In an interview four days before Garmyani’s murder,  — general director of the Awene (Mirror) Co for Publishing, founder of Hawllati (Citizen), and winner of the  for the Defense of Press Freedom in the Middle East — expressed his anger at the situation facing journalists.

Hardi asserted: “Our main problem is that there’s no guarantee for the freedom we have achieved in the KRG. Meanwhile, there are two administrations – KDP and PUK – on the ground, and that has made the KRG chaotic.”

Hardi was attacked himself in August 2011 in Sulaimaniyah by a group of men. Five of the assailants were arrested, while three were sentenced to two years in prison. Commenting on the attack, Hardi said: “Many of the higher officials within the KRG and the two ruling parties have their own thugs. Unfortunately, these thugs attack journalists in the center of the cities. Most times, investigations go nowhere.” 

He further explained: “Murdering journalists is still a possibility, and almost all independent, critical journalists feel unsafe. Writing on sensitive issues, which are red lines for journalists — like the corruption of the [top] officials in the KRG and the two ruling parties and their families, oil, some historical events and several other issues — may lead to the death of the writer.”

The “Other Iraq”

While KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani spends millions of dollars on advertisements in the international media depicting the KRG as “the other Iraq” and a “region of democracy and freedom of speech,” Kurdish journalists feel unsafe in their own homes.

An independent journalist who works in Erbil, argued: “During Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial regime, people were not sure if they would come back [home] in the evening. Today, in a free Kurdistan, journalists go out, but they are not sure if they [will] come back safely.” 

In a similar vein, Abdulwahid noted that freedom of the press in the KRG is allowed to the extent that “your media outlets are not critical enough to be a threat to the power. Once you cross the red lines, you are in danger.”

One journalist summed up the current situation succinctly in saying that: “Kurdistan is no longer a safe place for a critical journalist.” 

Although the Kurdistan region’s parliament passed  in 2007, journalists are concerned that it is not being enforced. So far, some ten journalists have fled the KRG and sought asylum in the United States and Europe.

On January 5, in most cities of the Kurdistan region, as well as many European countries and Canada, Kurdish people protested to put pressure on the KRG to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice.

In the cities of Slemani, Erbil, and Kalar, these protests have been larger and more sustained, often every week. Erbil’s protest on January 5 featured a large roving lorry that drove along a main street in the city center for 17 kilometers. The lorry, named “The Red Caravan,” carried protesters who held up signs commemorating the victims of the attacks. They demanded for the KRG to investigate the murders of journalists and put an end to violence.

Kurdish intellectuals, scholars, writers, and journalists fear setbacks to the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and democracy that they have gained by risking their lives. They are concerned that the KRG will become a region where, in their leadership’s eyes, oil contracts and large profits trump freedom and democracy. 

*[A version of this article was originally published by .]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect 51łÔąĎ’s editorial policy.

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Iraq has always been a country of both national and international upheavals. The frequent political changes have made Iraqis doubtful of their status, especially women. Time and again they were left homeless and in panic. They have endured the loss of dear ones, loss of a stable home, loss of their "self," and consequently loss of their identity.

Saddam Hussein’s reign witnessed major conflicts, including the eight-year-long Iran-Iraq War and the first Persian Gulf War. In 2003, the former ruler was deposed following the US-led invasion of the country. Ever since, the security situation has been very precarious with violence peaking in 2006 and 2007 and again in .

Violence Against Iraqi Women

During times of war, women are arguably the ones who are most affected by its trauma. Over the years, Iraq has become a battleground of death — sometimes caused by Americans, sometimes by other invaders or rivals like Iran, and sometimes due to internal political struggles.

As reported by The Guardian in 2007, there have been instances where dead women flooded hospitals but no one dared reveal their cause of death; these voices were silenced. They were said to have died in an "accident" when someone came to claim their bodies. Even today, sometimes they are unclaimed and rot away, unidentified.

The brutality of war and its effects upon Iraqi citizens are exemplified by a description of the in Iraqi Kurdistan. In its morgue, many female corpses could be found. The deaths came from a variety of causes: shooting, strangling, beatings and burning.

The face of a young woman in the Sulaimaniyah morgue clearly demonstrates the lack of humanity of these acts, her face contorted in a look of surprise even in death. As the manager of a women’s shelter testified, these ladies were probably burnt by their own families.

Iraq is in a situation of cultural and political anarchy. Local culture uses religion as a tool to impose a certain way of life on people, and the existing regime adopts and implements rules that serve the interests of the political elite. A general climate of lawlessness persists. “,” said Shameran Marugi, head of the non-governmental organization Iraqi Women’s Committee.

Women encounter verbal abuse and sometimes a hijab, the traditional Muslim headscarf. They also suffer from exploitation like trafficking and sexual slavery. Some Iraqi women still face genital mutilation — in contravention to the law which criminalized in 2011. Women who are thrown into prostitution are treated like criminals themselves. Even in , women face sexual and physical abuse.

The Right To Live

Earlier, in large parts of the country, Iraqi women were only able to move around while accompanied by a male escort. This situation has not changed much. There have been cases where rape was committed by these escorts and other armed groups. Some of these groups had direct links with the Iraqi government, while victims were thereafter killed. In small towns and villages, a woman cannot seek medical advice without the permission of a male authority in her family; if she needs to consult a doctor, a  is a requirement.

Social norms prevent women from going out alone because of their vulnerability to robbery, rape and murder. This makes war widows high-risk victims who often suffer from sexual assault and abuse.

Moreover, it has become normal for Iraqi women to receive death threats for working as hairdressers or tailors or for not wearing a hijab or not dressing "decently."  explained further: "In addition to equal rights we are now demanding the 'right to live.'"

Iraqi women have been murdered in unprecedented numbers since 2007, marking the post-execution period of Saddam Hussein. Cases of honor killings have increased over the course of time in Iraq. In Iraqi Kurdistan,  women were killed in the first six months of 2007 — three-quarters of them were burnt to death. When questioned, Iraqi doctors told UN investigators that most of these burnings were self-inflicted. : "The woman is unhappy, or there is domestic abuse, but the family doesn't listen. So she does it because she wants to draw attention to herself."   

Further reports point to a continuity of these patterns. The stated that during 2010, "76 women in the region were killed or committed suicide, while 330 were burned or self-immolated." A from the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights reported 249 murders of women, including honor crimes. In Kirkuk, 62 women died of burns in 2011; amongst them, 20 were victims of explosions but the remaining 42 contributed to the high rate of suicide among women.

The latest  records that from July to December 2012, there were 237 cases of physical abuse of women. Apart from that, 87 cases of sexual abuse were reported. Moreover, there were 153 burn cases, of which 50 resulted in death.

The issues for which women are most penalized are alleged adultery or for having relationships with men prior to marriage. Therefore, in order to restore their "honor," these women are killed by their brothers, husbands and other male relatives. In most cases, these acts are carried out in utmost secrecy with the bodies of girls being dumped miles away. If the body is found, in some cases, the family would completely deny having a daughter.

Theoretically, there is a legal framework aiming to limit acts of this nature, one example being the KRG’s Family Violence Bill from 2011. But practice reports by  or UNAMI criticize the poor implementation of the law by state authorities, while the KRG has been urged to take immediate action to ensure the proper implementation of the law

The  itself summarizes: 

"Law continues to permit ‘honor’ as a mitigating factor in crimes of violence committed against women and family members. There is still no effective system of shelters and coordinated care for the victims of domestic violence, and services available to victims remain inadequate."

The US Invasion and Women’s Rights

In March 2004,  said: "The advance of freedom in the Middle East has given new rights and new hopes to women… the systematic use of rape by Saddam's former regime to dishonor families has ended." This gives an impression to the world that the American and British invasion of Iraq in 2003 helped improve the conditions of women in the country. But this is not the case.

In , where the US also adopted the rhetoric of empowering women, the Taliban were criticized in a statement from Amnesty International officials for its "systemic torture and abuse of women." In contrast to this, Alex Arriago, director of government relations for Amnesty International USA argues: "In fact, there are even more documented cases of women raped by members of the Northern Alliance than there are by the Taliban." The Northern Alliance was allied with the Western forces during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Even during Saddam Hussein’s oppressive rule, women in Iraq were recognized as one of the most liberated in the Middle East, having held important positions in education, politics and business. Their rights were protected by a statutory family law which made female activists of other countries envious of Iraqi women’s relatively advanced status. Women still compare the post-invasion trauma to their life under the former regime.

A , when interviewed by activist Zainab Salbi, : 

"During Saddam’s time I used to fear his sons… now I fear everyone. We could roam around and go wherever we wanted without worrying during Saddam’s time. Our fear was political. We couldn’t talk. We couldn’t express our views… but that fear has now spread to the streets. I can no longer walk there."

The situation was relatively favorable for women until the 2003 invasion, but the developments which took 50 years to unravel have now disintegrated.  argues: "Before the 2003 invasion, it was possible for a woman to lead a normal life as long as she followed state policy… It was even possible for a woman to engage in political and economic activities through the official Union of Iraqi Women.” After the invasion, the Union was dismantled because of its affiliation with Saddam Hussein’s former Ba'ath Party.

Iraqi women still face violence in every part of the country. On , unknown gunmen fired on three women, ranging between 20 to 30 years of age. Similarly, on July 10, women were killed in three different incidents — again by unknown gunmen.

The deterioration in the lives of Iraqi women has been caused by the political instability of war, which has often resulted in the deaths of family breadwinners. To bring up their children, Iraqi women sometimes have to resort to measures like prostitution which results in crimes such as sex trafficking. They cannot get good jobs due to their lack of education. Thus, women are marginalized and cannot contribute economically, socially and politically to Iraqi society.   

Rules and laws do exist but their implementation is poor in Iraq today. Women like Marugi are fighting for their rights — one of these is the "right to live."

Education can be the key to the institutionalization of women’s rights against these violations and oppression. A  recorded that 40.8% of Iraqi women fail to complete their education due to their family's refusal, 13.1% because of early marriage, and 4.2% for security reasons. This leads to a poor stature of education as the survey of  found that 57.5% can only read and write their names.

The Way Forward

Apart from education, Iraqi women need to be financially independent so they can at least fight back with their earnings. Women for Women International surveyed that 90% of women in Iraq are not engaged in productive work, highlighting the importance of helping them find employment.

There are many other ways in which women can help themselves apart from education and work. Being politically active can be a significant means for liberation. Lack of proper leadership in Iraq is one of the main reasons for the deteriorated conditions of Iraqis. Female leaders can be helpful in overcoming these atrocities.

Nobody knows how many Iraqi women will be able to take initiative like activists  and  have. Hopefully one day, the women of not only Iraq but of the whole world will be free from wars and bars — wars created by politics and the bars imposed by society and the imposition of religion.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect 51łÔąĎ’s editorial policy.

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A decision by the European soccer body, UEFA, to grant Gibraltar the right of membership potentially opens the door to Kurdistan to seek association with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), in a move that would acknowledge demands for increased autonomy and the possible shifting of national borders in the Middle East as a result of a wave of change sweeping the region and the civil war in Syria.

The UEFA decision on Gibraltar following a ruling by the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) and the possible Iraqi Kurdish application to the AFC, puts pressure on the world soccer body, FIFA, to loosen its rules on membership as the group gears up for its general assembly in Mauritius.

The CAS ruled that UEFA’s adoption in 1999 of FIFA’s policy that members need to be recognized by the United Nations was unfair. UEFA originally accepted the UN rule in 1999 to appease Spain, which was opposed to the British outpost’s membership.

FIFA has used the rule to bar groups like the Kurds but relaxed its criteria for Palestine, which was granted membership despite not having full UN membership. The AFC’s statutes refer to the UN rule only indirectly by stating that membership has to comply with FIFA’s statutes.

An application by Iraqi Kurdistan is likely to be resisted by Middle Eastern members of the AFC. These members are largely controlled directly or indirectly by governments that have been put on the defensive as a result of the popular revolts in the region. Opposition is also likely from an international community that is reticent to see a redrawing of colonial-era borders.

Kurdish Quest for Autonomy

Iraqi Kurdistan has been autonomous within Iraq since Western powers imposed a no-fly-zone in the early 1990s to protect the Kurds from retaliation by then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Iraqi Kurds see their national soccer team as a vehicle to assert nationhood and achieve eventual statehood.

The Kurds are but one group — albeit the most important one in the Middle East — that is demanding greater self-rule and recognition of national rights. The civil war in Syria has raised questions about what a post-Bashar Al-Assad state would look like with Syrian Kurds demanding autonomy, amid fears that Al-Assad’s last resort may be to carve out a state for his minority Alawite sect. Kurdish guerrillas in Turkey are negotiating with the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for greater rights within Turkey.

Sunni Muslim tribal leaders in Iraq are demanding a federation that would give them greater control of their own affairs against the backdrop of increased sectarian violence. Other multi-ethnic states in the Middle East, like Iran, risk minorities demanding greater rights. Israel and the Palestinians have yet to agree on their borders as part of an elusive peace agreement.

“Ominous political realities may be rendering the nation-state system incompatible with the emerging new Arab world…The disintegration that the region has already witnessed – and will undoubtedly continue to witness – will reverberate beyond the Arab map with the creation of a sovereign Kurdish state. Such a state, whether existing de facto or with widespread formal recognition, will have an ever-lasting effect on the boundaries of the Arab world (Syria and Iraq) and of the wider Middle East (Turkey and Iran),” said Saudi analyst Nawaf Obaid, a visiting fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

A statement by Iraqi Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, equating sports to politics as a way of achieving recognition, adorns Iraqi Kurdistan’s three major stadiums and virtually all of its sports centers and institutions. “We want to serve our nation and use sports to get everything for our nation. We all believe in what the president said,” stated Kurdistan Football Federation (KFF) President Safin Kanabi — scion of a legendary supporter of Kurdish soccer who led anti-regime protests in Kurdish stadiums during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Prospects

While Arab states’ natural inclination would be to reject an Iraqi Kurdish application to the AFC, some believe that opponents of Al-Assad, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, may use it as leverage to persuade Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to reduce support for Al-Assad. Iraq has a one year, 800,000 ton, oil contract with Syria and is believed to allow Iranian cargo planes, headed for Syria, to regularly transit its air space.

The KFF has been demanding, since last year, that FIFA grant its team the right to play international friendlies in much the same way that the soccer body allowed Kosovo and Catalonia to do so.

“Like any nation, we want to open the door through football. Take Brazil. People know Brazil first and foremost through football. We want to do the same. We want to have a strong team by the time we have a country. We do our job, politicians do theirs. Inshallah (if God wills), we will have a country and a flag,” added Kurdistan national coach Abdullah Mahmoud Muhieddin.

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture at the University of Würzburg, and the author of  blog.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect 51łÔąĎ’s editorial policy.

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