Women in Iraq by Noga Efrati

Author:Noga Efrati [Efrati, Noga]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Middle East, General, Social Science, Anthropology, Women's Studies
ISBN: 9780231530248
Google: weoC4c745zcC
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2012-01-24T01:11:24+00:00

BEGINNINGS: 1910–1932

Both al-Dulaimi and Da’ud attributed the inspiration for the birth of an Iraqi women’s movement to male intellectuals. They concurred on two figures of special importance: the poets Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi (1863–1936) and Ma‘ruf al-Rusafi (1875–1945), whose writings on behalf of women preceded the establishment of the Iraqi state.12 Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi’s writings on women were inspired by the work of his contemporary, Qasim Amin (1865–1908), regarded until recently as the father of Egyptian and Arab feminism.13 According to some, al-Zahawi was personally acquainted with Amin. Al-Zahawi called for the education of women and argued against veiling and seclusion, polygamy and male privileges in divorce, forced marriage, marriage without previous acquaintance, and large differences in age between spouses. Like his contemporaries in neighboring countries, he linked national development to the status of women, arguing that a nation could not expect progress when half of its population was stymied and uneducated.14 With this in mind, al-Zahawi urged the Ottoman governor of Baghdad to open a school for girls, and, indeed, such an institution was inaugurated in 1899 with almost one hundred pupils.

In 1910, al-Zahawi published in an Egyptian newspaper an article entitled “The Woman and Her Defense,” in which he chastised men’s oppressive treatment of women, the use of the veil, and Muslim male privileges in marriage, divorce, and inheritance. He claimed that women’s seclusion and ignorance explained the “backwardness” of Muslims in comparison to “Westerners.” His article raised an outcry in Baghdad and led to his dismissal from the faculty of the Baghdad Law School (later the Iraq Law School).15 This dismissal did not deter him. He continued to send poems supporting women’s issues to Arab and Eastern women’s conferences outside the country as well as to women’s magazines, and he participated in the Arab women’s conference held in Baghdad in 1932.16 Those who sought to discredit him emphasized al-Zahawi’s connections with the British authorities and the public support he lent to their occupation.17 However, Da’ud, whose parents actively opposed the British occupation in 1920, managed to isolate these facts from his efforts on behalf of women. In a memorial service for al-Zahawi in March 1937, Da’ud gave a speech in which she praised him as “a supporter of Arab women.” Al-Dulaimi associated al-Zahawi with what she termed the “nationalist bourgeoisie,” but she avoided discussion of his political inclinations.18

Both activists also depicted Ma‘ruf al-Rusafi as a source of inspiration.19 He not only opposed veiling, seclusion, and forced marriages but also advocated marriage based on mutual affection. His support for the education of women was already evident in his first collection of poems, published in 1910. Linking the status of women to the woes of his “Eastern society,” he argued that progress hinged on their education and advancement.20 Although critical of the “backward” East, al-Rusafi looked to the Islamic past rather than to the Western present as a model. He argued that in Islam the pursuit of knowledge was a duty for both boys and girls, noting that ‘A’isha, the Prophet’s wife, was taught by Muhammad himself and became a great scholar.

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