THEORIZING FEMINIST STRUGGLE IN POST-WAR IRAQ by YANAR MOHAMMED A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Adult Education and Community Development Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Yanar Mohammed 2019 Theorizing Feminist Struggle in Post-War Iraq Yanar Mohammed Master of Arts, Adult Education and Community Development Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education University of Toronto 2019 Abstract The 2003 imperialist occupation of Iraq brought out the worst in the society, unleashing Islamist religious extremism, ethnic division, and misogyny, causing atrocities on women such as enslavement, trafficking and misogynist legislation. This research is based on personal experience of founding the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, a secular feminist organization to confront patriarchy and capitalism. The research begins with an analysis of the forced socio-political changes and proceeds to investigate the problematic of extreme patriarchal violence against women and demonstrates the ways in which feminists of the organization resisted and challenged patriarchy through establishing a network of women’s shelters. This research is a Marxist feminist analysis of systemic patriarchal violence, concluding a theoretic framework of its concepts, power relations, and social structures; thus, informing the articulation of an organizational feminist platform to guide the struggles of Iraqi women to dismantle patriarchy and capitalism within a revolutionary movement. ii Acknowledgments The beginnings of my political feminist struggle in Iraq were made possible with the support of many comrades who helped me articulate a variety of radical feminist ideas and concepts into a Marxist feminist position and build a women’s organization in Iraq based on it. One of the reasons that motivated me to write the thesis was the need to resolve the argument of Marxism versus Feminism which continued to come up in our daily struggles, debates and organizational activities within the Worker Communist Party of Iraq. Being part of the Iraqi communist circles was reason for an ongoing attempt of articulating a Marxist feminist agenda which separated our women’s organization from the liberal feminism of the NGO scene, and yet there were not many successful Marxist feminist women’s groups to whose agenda we could refer to, neither was the prevailing group in the party supportive of my feminist affiliation; thus the task was very difficult. In some moments of burn-out from a never-ending conflict with the liberal-feminist NGO scene, the challenges with the US-backed ruling religious groups, the patriarchal communists inside and outside the party, and a devastating political scene, I needed to step out and have short breaks in my home in Toronto. I was fortunate to meet Professor Shahrzad Mojab who encouraged me to take the time and study Marxist feminism within an academic program to shed more light on our struggles on the ground. Mojab’s patience with my continued travel to Iraq, and her engaging arguments throughout different stages of my study helped offer guidance throughout years of my study in Toronto. To all the Marxist feminist professors who offered guidance along my academic journey of the past years, I forward all appreciation and gratitude. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Appendices ........................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1 Revolutionary Feminism in Post-war Iraq ......................................................................1 Where to Begin ...........................................................................................................................5 The Objectives, Methodology, Problematic and Structure of the Research .............................10 Reasons and Motivation for Research.......................................................................................15 3.1 Documenting OWFI’s Political Struggles: Denied in Leftist Western Writings of Post-war Iraq ......................................................................................................................16 3.2 Documenting OWFI’s Feminist Struggles: Denied in Feminist Writings and within NGO Feminism ..................................................................................................................17 3.3 OWFI’s Feminist and Anti-imperialist Positions Contested as a Small Women’s Group with too Much Rhetoric ..........................................................................................18 3.4 The Question of Women’s Right-to-life Altogether: Avoided by Both Mainstream Left and Women’s NGOs ..................................................................................................20 Background and Perspective of Researcher ..............................................................................22 Relevant Literature Review ......................................................................................................26 Iraqi Women’s Movement: A Chronology ...............................................................................32 Chapter 2 Social and Political Context in Post-War Iraq: Challenges and Political Confrontations ...........................................................................................................................36 The Iraqi Political Context before the Occupation ...................................................................36 7.1 Iraq during the 1980s: A Reckless Dictatorship with Incredible Wealth ..........................39 7.2 The First Gulf War on Iraq Followed by a Decade of Economic Sanctions .....................41 7.3 The Second Gulf War on Iraq 2003 ...................................................................................43 7.4 Reasons behind the 2003 Occupation ................................................................................44 iv 7.5 Imperialist Politics of Division Based on Religion, Ethnicity and Gender: A Requirement to Confiscate Iraqi Oil ..................................................................................46 7.6 Privatization and Restructuring Economy: A Blow to the Working Class ........................51 Chapter 3 The Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq: Circumstances, Statements, Activities, Struggle against Patriarchy ......................................................................................55 Founding the Organization: Conditions and Event of the First Year........................................57 8.1 An NGO, or a Political Mass Organization for Women: On the Co-opting of the Movement ..........................................................................................................................64 8.2 Combating Violence Against Women: An Activity of Providing Services or a Revolutionary Agenda .......................................................................................................69 Political and Social Challenges .................................................................................................70 9.1 Struggle against Imperialist Policies and Internal Conflict ...............................................70 9.2 Struggle against Islamic Provisions and Groups ...............................................................73 9.3 Struggle against NGO/Civil Society Culture .....................................................................75 9.4 Dismay at Leftist Indifference to Women’s Dilemma: Women’s Right-to-Life as a Central Demand .................................................................................................................78 Main Activities and Campaigns of the Organization ................................................................80 Chapter 4 Analyzing Patriarchal Violence to Shape Conceptual Framework of Dismantling it: A Feminist Platform for OWFI .............................................................................................95 Analysis of Systemic Patriarchal Violence: Investigation of Practices, Concepts and Tools of Patriarchal Dominance ..........................................................................................................96 11.1 Mass Killings of Women in the Center and South: Systemic ‘Honour-Killing’ ...............99 11.2 Sex Trafficking of War Widows and Orphans 2003 Onward..........................................100 11.3 Jaafari Legislation of Female Child Marriage and Objectification of Women ...............103 11.4 ISIS Enslavement of Women of ‘Other’ Religion/Ethnicity ...........................................105 11.5 Theoretic Analysis of Patriarchal Practices and Relations: Marxist Feminist Responses to Concepts and Methods ...............................................................................106 A Platform for Marxist Feminist Organizing: Conclusion, Concepts and Guidelines ...........109 12.1 Kinds of Feminist Consciousness ....................................................................................110