Limiting Polygyny in Iraqi Kurdistan a Study on Different Views of Women Regarding the Amendment of the Personal Status Law
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Limiting polygyny in Iraqi Kurdistan A study on different views of women regarding the amendment of the personal status law Haje Keli MA thesis in History of Religion, 60 credits Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages Faculty of Humanities UNIVERSITY OF OSLO SPRING 2011 Table of Contents Summary ..................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... iv Part 1: Background Information & Methodology .................. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Why the term polygyny? ................................................................................................ 3 Key questions ................................................................................................................. 4 Prior research .................................................................................................................. 5 Authentic insider ............................................................................................................ 5 Explaining abbreviations ................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 2: A brief overview of the Kurds ............................................................ 8 Origins ............................................................................................................................ 8 Location and population ................................................................................................. 8 Language ........................................................................................................................ 9 Tribalism ......................................................................................................................... 9 The status of women ....................................................................................................... 9 Kurds and religion ........................................................................................................ 10 Chapter 3: On methodology & conducting research as an “insider” .... 13 Aims ............................................................................................................................. 13 Conducting fieldwork in my “homeland” .................................................................... 13 Identity .......................................................................................................................... 14 Meeting oneself in the field .......................................................................................... 15 Expectations and difficulties with co-existing ............................................................. 16 Clothing options ........................................................................................................... 17 i The interviews and the process of making contacts ..................................................... 18 Interviews conducted .................................................................................................... 19 Method of interviewing ................................................................................................ 20 The conversations that provoked and moved me ......................................................... 22 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 23 Chapter 4: Amending the personal status law in Iraqi Kurdistan ........... 25 Autonomy since 1991, but how did it all begin? .......................................................... 25 From humble beginnings to KRG ................................................................................ 26 Elections, divisions and reuniting: What it means for polygyny .................................. 27 The Parliament .............................................................................................................. 29 Amending the personal status law ................................................................................ 31 History of Iraqi Personal Status Law & the KRG amendment .................................... 33 Conditions to polygyny; are they really limiting it? ..................................................... 35 Part 2: Analyzing Fieldwork Data ........................................................ 39 Chapter 5: Polygyny & marriage ............................................................................ 39 Passive women ............................................................................................................. 39 Pressure on both sexes .................................................................................................. 40 Choosy at first, second wife in the end? ....................................................................... 41 Ideas about good and bad marriages ............................................................................ 42 Duties, chores and responsibilities within a marriage .................................................. 44 Chapter 6: Polygyny & divorce ............................................................................... 46 Divorce seen as a bad thing .......................................................................................... 46 Divorce seen as a good thing ........................................................................................ 50 Is divorce a solution or a problem? .............................................................................. 51 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 7: Polygyny & sexuality ............................................................................ 53 ii Why men‟s sexual desires have to be controlled through polygyny ............................ 53 Why women‟s sexual desires have to be controlled through polygyny ....................... 57 Views on sexuality ....................................................................................................... 58 Chapter 8: Polygyny & religion .............................................................................. 60 Islamic or secular based law ......................................................................................... 61 Justifying prohibition or consent of polygyny through Islam ...................................... 65 Chapter 9: Polygyny as a remedy & as a problem ......................................... 69 Polygyny as a remedy for “illnesses” and bigger problems ......................................... 69 The cases where polygyny solves problems ................................................................. 71 Cases where polygyny creates problems ...................................................................... 74 Ideas about men who “usually” practice polygyny ...................................................... 77 The role of politics and politicians in the limiting of polygyny ................................... 79 Chapter 10: Conclusion ............................................................................................... 85 Appendix: ............................................................................................................................ 88 Bibliography: ..................................................................................................................... 90 Primary Sources: ............................................................................................................. 90 Secondary Sources: ........................................................................................................ 91 iii Summary On November 13, 2008, the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq amended the Iraqi Personal Status Law. The amendment passed by the region‟s government affects Article 3 of the Iraqi Personal Status law, which deals with the practice of polygyny. This amendment added new legal conditions to polygyny, further restricting it and making it extremely difficult to practice. The amendment has its supporters and opponents; women for and against polygyny are represented within women‟s organizations, political parties and parliament and all have a reaction to the amendment. The data collected through fieldwork conducted in spring 2010 in Iraqi Kurdistan argues that the women interviewed claim they know what is best for women in Kurdistan. The anti-polygyny respondents hoped that polygyny would be prohibited, while pro-polygyny respondents desired the opposite. Since the new conditions have made it exceedingly difficult to practice polygyny without banning it outright, both groups are somewhat displeased. This thesis argues that both pro-polygyny and anti-polygyny respondents wish to own the right to “define” what is best for women in Kurdistan and fight for their views to become representative of women in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and influence the region‟s laws that directly affect a women‟s role in society and her rights as a citizen and member of a family. Both groups view the limiting of polygyny as a disappointment and a victory. This outlook further supports the argument of this thesis; that both pro and anti-polygyny groups see themselves as the true representatives