WADI Analysen - Demonstration against Polygamy in Suleymaniah

Demonstration against Polygamy in Suleymaniah

"Why 20 Million Kurds in Turkey live without Polygamy and 3,5 Million in Iraq should have it?"

von Thomas von der Osten-Sacken

Various independent Kurdish Rights have gathered in a initiative called 25th of November to step up activities against a law that recently passed the Kurdish Parliament. This law allows polygamy with some restrictions.

The 25th of November activists have therefore called for a boycott of all Governmental sponsored celebrations today. The Kurdish Regional Government has held a week of conferences and activities against "Violence against Women" culminating today in a celebration which was attended by Prime Minister Narchewan Barzani. Barzani has recently outraged secular Kurds with a statement that no Kurdish law should contradict Sharia.

Although being invited to the celebration nine organizations decided to boycott these festivities. And hold a demonstration instead. Various groups and individuals expressed their solidarity and support - both from inside Iraqi-Kurdistan, Iraq and abroad. They are demanding that the law has to be re-discussed.

Today members of the initiative gathered in Nahli-Park in Suleymaniah for protest. With slogans like "Why 20 Million Kurds in Turkey live without Polygamy and 3,5 Million in Iraq should have it?" and "Silence about Polygamy is Violence against Women" they gathered at 2.pm. Both men and women were equally present.

"They want to tell us polygamy is belonging to our culture" a student says, "but then we ask ourselves: why the majority of Kurds live happily without it and we never hear complaints from them?" With an approximately total population of 20 million, Kurds in Turkey outnumber the ones in Iran, Syria and Iraq.

With stripes glued over their mouths the protestors kept silent during the whole duration of the demonstration.

"Today we have symbolically closed our mouths, so our cry could be heard louder", explains Tara Hussein, member of the Suleymaniah based Women Rights NGO Women Law Center (WOLA).

"We want to show that the people who fight for the rights of women the other 364 days in the year keep silent today not joining the meaningless talk of the officials, who are not doing enough to fight violence against women on the ground", says Aram Jamal from the Kurdish Election Institute (KIE)

Such forms of creative protest have not been seen in Suleymaniah before. The action found an extremely positive resonance in the local media. Even today's headlines of major Kurdish Rozhnama Newspaper were dedicated to this protest.

The 25th of November Initiative understands this demonstration, which was organized spontaneously and only within 48 hours, only as a starting point for a much larger campaign to ban polygamy.

"This action was planned and implemented in a very short time and almost without any money. We spend less than 100 Dollars on it, while the Government hast tens of thousands for conferences and seminars without any long term impact" Jamal smiles. "But we think this demonstration said more about what people here think and want than all official conferences and festivals together".

It was the first demonstration Mrs. Hussein's ever joined in her life. But she insists, but for sure, she says, it will not be her last: "We are slowly learning how to make our voices heard, but still we have a lot to learn, since demonstration were not allowed under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, except in order to support him."

A lady from Baghdad found a warm welcome, when she spontaneously joined the demonstration; expressing her hope that one day polygamy will be banned all over Iraq.

		Druckversion
	Demonstration against Polygamy in Suleymaniah "Why 20 Million Kurds in Turkey live without Polygamy and 3,5 Million in Iraq should have it?" von Thomas von der Osten-Sacken Various independent Kurdish Rights have gathered in a initiative called 25th of November to step up activities against a law that recently passed the Kurdish Parliament. This law allows polygamy with some restrictions. The 25th of November activists have therefore called for a boycott of all Governmental sponsored celebrations today. The Kurdish Regional Government has held a week of conferences and activities against "Violence against Women" culminating today in a celebration which was attended by Prime Minister Narchewan Barzani. Barzani has recently outraged secular Kurds with a statement that no Kurdish law should contradict Sharia. Although being invited to the celebration nine organizations decided to boycott these festivities. And hold a demonstration instead. Various groups and individuals expressed their solidarity and support - both from inside Iraqi-Kurdistan, Iraq and abroad. They are demanding that the law has to be re-discussed. Today members of the initiative gathered in Nahli-Park in Suleymaniah for protest. With slogans like "Why 20 Million Kurds in Turkey live without Polygamy and 3,5 Million in Iraq should have it?" and "Silence about Polygamy is Violence against Women" they gathered at 2.pm. Both men and women were equally present. "They want to tell us polygamy is belonging to our culture" a student says, "but then we ask ourselves: why the majority of Kurds live happily without it and we never hear complaints from them?" With an approximately total population of 20 million, Kurds in Turkey outnumber the ones in Iran, Syria and Iraq. With stripes glued over their mouths the protestors kept silent during the whole duration of the demonstration. "Today we have symbolically closed our mouths, so our cry could be heard louder", explains Tara Hussein, member of the Suleymaniah based Women Rights NGO Women Law Center (WOLA). "We want to show that the people who fight for the rights of women the other 364 days in the year keep silent today not joining the meaningless talk of the officials, who are not doing enough to fight violence against women on the ground", says Aram Jamal from the Kurdish Election Institute (KIE) Such forms of creative protest have not been seen in Suleymaniah before. The action found an extremely positive resonance in the local media. Even today's headlines of major Kurdish Rozhnama Newspaper were dedicated to this protest. The 25th of November Initiative understands this demonstration, which was organized spontaneously and only within 48 hours, only as a starting point for a much larger campaign to ban polygamy. "This action was planned and implemented in a very short time and almost without any money. We spend less than 100 Dollars on it, while the Government hast tens of thousands for conferences and seminars without any long term impact" Jamal smiles. "But we think this demonstration said more about what people here think and want than all official conferences and festivals together". It was the first demonstration Mrs. Hussein's ever joined in her life. But she insists, but for sure, she says, it will not be her last: "We are slowly learning how to make our voices heard, but still we have a lot to learn, since demonstration were not allowed under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, except in order to support him." A lady from Baghdad found a warm welcome, when she spontaneously joined the demonstration; expressing her hope that one day polygamy will be banned all over Iraq. WADI e.V. \| tel.: (+49) 069-57002440 \| fax (+49) 069-57002444 http://www.wadinet.de \| e-mail: