AMEWS - Association for Middle East Women's Studies

MEWS Review

Voices of Resistance: Women Speak Out
Azza Basarudin and Khanum Shaikh
Interview Amal Al-Khedairy and Nermin Al-Mufti

Middle East Women’s Studies Review, Vol. Xviii, Nos. 3 & 4, Fall 2003/Spring 2004, pp. 1-3, 15.

On November 17, 2003, Amal Al-Khedairy and Nermin Al-Mufti, two visitors from Iraq, gave a talk at the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA) on the impact of the United States’ military occupation on Iraqi men and women. Khedairy’s opening comment to the audience was: “I see your beautiful universities here, and I ask why did your government have to destroy our universities?”

Al-Khedairy and Al-Mufti were enraged by injustices committed against Iraqi civilians and were determined to speak out against the US occupation of Iraq. Insistent that the occupation of Iraq must end, they believe that the international community must be a part of the reconstruction of their country. “This is not a war, it is an aggression, a vicious destruction of our country and its people,” said Al-Mufti.

Al-Khedairy is the founder and director of Al-Beit Al-Iraqi or Iraqi House, an arts and cultural center in Baghdad. Located in her family’s Ottoman-style home, Al-Khedairy opened the center in 1988. She is also a widely traveled expert in Iraqi history, regional culture, arts, archeology and music. She is fluent in French and English, in addition to Arabic.

Al-Mufti is an internationally recognized Iraqi journalist. Through scholarships and invitations, Al-Mufti has received fellowships in international journalism from Hungary and the UK. For more than twenty years, she has served as a consultant and writer for many international media agencies. Until this year, Al-Mufti produced weekly columns on corruption, the environment, gender issues, contemporary literature, human rights, education, nutrition and disease for a well known Iraqi weekly. With her extraordinary grasp of the social, economic and political history of Iraq, Al-Mufti writes articles on sanctions, war and history that appear on a regular basis in Al-Ahram, a weekly paper in Cairo. In addition, Al-Mufti is an expert in the archeology and art of her country. The following is our interview with them.

Basarudin & Shaikh: Can you explain why you have embarked on such a tour in the US? What is your purpose and what do you hope to gain by doing this?

Al-Khedairy: We don’t represent Iraqi women, we are women from Iraq who have witnessed the occupation and we are here to tell our side of the story. We want people to know how the Iraqi people have not only suffered from the severe sanctions but are now suffering again from this unjust war. Our basic infrastructure such as schools, bridges, hospitals, sewage, and water system have been destroyed. Everything was destroyed completely and only the ministry of oil was saved. In the search for Saddam Hussein, our children, women and men are constantly under bombardment. We ask ourselves how and why did this happen? Iraq is even smaller than the state of California. All this destruction was done under the guise of searching for weapons of mass destruction and toppling Saddam Hussein. Instead, the US administration toppled the whole of Iraq, destroyed houses and the lives of people.

Al-Mufti: We are here to raise awareness on what is going on in Iraq. We were in opposition to this occupation from the beginning. The US administration launched this occupation on my country based on false documents given to the US administration by Iraqi opposition groups who are in Iraq and in exile. Iraqis are being killed every day, in every city -- not just in Baghdad by so called ‘friendly fire’ of the American army, who are ‘trigger happy,’ ready to kill any Iraqi while at the same time they (US soldiers) are also being killed.

We are here to say end this occupation and pull out all the American troops as soon as possible, not only to protect the Iraqi people but also to protect the young Americans who are being killed as well. We are here because for 13 years, 26 million Iraqis have been demonized in the Western media in a very ugly way, as if we are not human beings, as if we are not the same Iraqis who have a rich history, as if we are not the same Iraqis where civilization began, the same Iraqis who introduced the very basis of mathematics. So we are here in a very simple way to shake hands, to see our American friends and let them know what is really happening.

Basarudin & Shaikh: We know that Iraq is a very culturally rich country. Can you share with us a little about Iraqi culture and people, and what the impacts of the war have been on Iraqi culture and the people of Iraq?

Al-Mufti: [Tears] I spent three days crying when our museums were looted. It was not just Iraqi history but it is the history of the world. You cannot find those old Iraqi statues anymore, the ones that were stolen from the museums. The statues were always of a man and a woman, and between them a child or children, and most of these statues were 20,000 years old. This proves that Iraqi civilization was filled with love; we have a very old civilization passed down from generation to generation. Do you know that when Allah expelled Adam from paradise after the first sin, he (Adam) sat crying for years and years, looking for another place that resembled paradise…and that place was in southern Iraq, in Basra, a place called Al-Qurnah, which is where Adam and Eve met for the first time on Earth, and for the first time on the Earth, a love act took place between Adam and Eve. So the first time in the world a love act took place it was in Iraq, an act that gave birth to all humankind.

So I say how can such a history be lost? You can find from East to far West, from North to South we had 140,000 historical sites. These sites now are being dug up and we are realizing that all the genuine artifacts that were thousands of years old were stolen, but the duplicated ones were left behind -- all under the protection of the US military. Important documents of all sorts for the last 100 years (real estate, birth certificates, etc.) have disappeared. The looters burned the University library and the General library of Iraq, so 2 & 1/2 million books from libraries were lost. They burned and ransacked Bait-ul-Hiqmat (the House of Wisdom), which was an institution created in the Abbasid period. With my own eyes I saw people selling the most valuable historical books from Bait-ul-Hiqmat on the streets, every 10 books for $1.

I must say that this is not an accidental erasure of history. It is very deliberate and calculated act. It was very well planned out in advance. And don’t forget that 1,000 Free Iraqi Forces (FIF) was very well trained by the Americans in Hungary before they even entered Iraq. Many things point to the fact that this was all a calculated destruction of the very foundations of Iraqi history, Iraqi dignity, the erasure of Iraqi history and pride.

Basarudin & Shaikh: It was widely reported that the cultural center, the “Iraqi House” was looted and ransacked during the chaos that followed after the US military occupied Iraq; why do you think this happened and could it have been prevented by US troops?

Al-Khedairy: It is a systematic way of destroying culture and all aspects of life. This was not only my house, you see, it was a cultural house as well as an arts and crafts center. There used to be many women who worked in that house, earning a living and supporting their families by selling their crafts. So many of them at the moment are feeling very bad about the destruction of the Iraqi House.

But the destruction was everywhere in Iraq. The second day after the occupation started I went to a bridge to get a view of Baghdad, and it was the most tragic thing that could happen to any city, especially a city like Baghdad, which was once the seat of the Abbasid Empire which ruled for 600 years from China to Spain. Iraq was also the first independent country in the Arab world and the Middle East. To see everything burning around you, week after week after week, was very painful. I really believe that this was part of a systematic elimination of the culture of our society and country.

Just before coming on this trip, we (Al-Mufti and Al-Khedairy) were searching through the rubble left behind from the destruction of the Iraqi House, and we found looms that were used by craftswomen and men -- they even destroyed the looms. Why did they have to destroy the looms? Had they stolen the looms I could understand that people wanted them. They just destroyed everything that was there. Another example is the museum; it is a clear example of the international and systematic nature of this operation. Why else would the looters leave the fake pieces in the museums and take the original ones? How do the looters know which is original and which are the fake artifacts? Why did the US military just stand by and let the looters ran wild? This could have been prevented. One warning shot into the air would have scared the looters away, but this was not done.

Basarudin & Shaikh: Can you describe the life of Iraqis in general and women in particular over a decade of war (Iran-Iraq war), the Gulf War, international sanctions and now under US military and economic occupation?

Al-Mufti: As an Iraqi woman, let me tell you what the impacts have been on my life. I was just 20 years old when the Iran/Iraq war began. In my 20s I gave birth to my son, so he was a baby in the war. He became a child in the 1991 war, a teenager under very severe sanctions, and a young man under United States military occupation. Thank goodness I have a very good mother who assisted me financially, helped me raise my son, and gave me a choice to be a journalist. But other women do not have the same options. You know in 1979 Iraq won the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prize because the literacy rates amongst both men and women were extremely high. After years of wars and sanctions, 45% of our younger generation below the age of 15 is illiterate now. Iraq had the finest education system, free healthcare system and excellent social services. Now we have nothing.

However, the most important thing we lost is our value scale. Our values are now upside down. During the sanctions many people got involved with smuggling and other illegal and immoral activities in order to make money, and through such activities have accumulated some measure of wealth. Such illegal activities are so commonplace now that they are affecting the dominant moral values of our society. Within 20 years, Iraq has gone down from being number 14 in the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) list of most developed countries to number 156. Seven million Iraqis are now under the poverty line. We have 3 million single women who have lost husbands and sons through sanctions and wars.

One of the impacts of wars and sanctions has been a rapid increase in prostitution in Iraq. Prior to 1991, levels of prostitution were relatively low. However, over the last decade prostitution rates have sky rocketed. Many men died in the wars, and sanctions left women in financial difficulty. More and more women, as well as children now, are involved in prostitution in order to make a living. I recently completed a project working with children who are 10, 11, 12 years old -- not even teenagers -- who are working in this industry.

Basarudin & Shaikh: The Human Rights Watch has published a report on how the failure of Iraqi and US-led occupation authorities to provide public security in Iraq’s capital has increased incidences of rape and abduction of girls and women. Can you comment on this report?

Al-Mufti: I have seen many cases of violence against women recently. One specific case that stands out is that of a 9-year old girl who was brutally raped and continued to bleed for 10 days and her body was bruised in ways that is hard to even imagine. When I asked her what had happened, she could not even explain to me what she had experienced.

Basarudin & Shaikh: Noeleen Heyzer, executive director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), said the poor security situation is also preventing women from taking more responsibility in rebuilding Iraq. What are your opinions on this and what roles do you envision women taking on in this postwar society?

Al-Khedairy: Yes, this is a serious problem. Because of rampant abductions, rape and other crimes against women and also men, many women are afraid to come out of their houses. Iraq is a lawless country now. Some people are out of control, and women become victims; so when they can’t even leave the house without fear of rape, how are they going to take part in rebuilding the country?

I see women taking up active roles just as they once had in postwar Iraq. Before the Gulf war, sanctions, and now occupation, women had active roles in society.

Basarudin & Shaikh: There have been numerous reports lately that the US led occupation in Iraq is fueling extremist groups whereby women are being intimidated to take on the veil. Any comment on this?

Al-Mufti: Before the war, some religious extremists spoke out against women who didn’t wear hijab in the streets. However, the highest Shari'a court issued a wonderful fatwa in favor of women, saying that no one has the right to force women to wear the hijab. This was a great fatwa and women in Iraq rarely veiled, although this practice varies according to region. Now, however, violence, sexual coercion, and rape are on the rise due to the chaos in the country. More women are seen wearing the hijab on the streets now, and fewer women are seen walking in the streets due to the fear of violence. I can’t say if this is directly linked to US occupation or not, but perhaps foreign presence coupled with incidences of abductions and rape in the country has in increased the need for protection of our women.

Basarudin & Shaikh: What roles do you see Iraqis in exile have to play in rebuilding Iraq?

Al-Mufti: Everybody must have a role in re-building Iraq -- not just Iraqis -- because every body is responsible for what happened. International organizations as well as political leaders like Nelson Mandela who have dealt with serious challenges in their own countries could serve as an important voice. And what happened to the United Nations? Where were the international organizations like the United Nations in the destruction of Iraq?

Basarudin & Shaikh: Is there anything you would like to say to the American public?

Al-Khedairy: People should not to be deceived by the media. The US public needs to think of us not as things but as human beings who also have a right to live and have our children educated just like children here. Why were our universities destroyed when they look after your universities so well? Our museums, all the historical and cultural aspects of our lives have been destroyed as well. Why did the occupiers do that?

They (the US) should ask themselves why they waged this war -- it is not just one man -- it is the whole nation. One man cannot wage war just because he wants to. I know there were demonstrations in opposition to the war, but if you are a democratic country, there should be more than one voice making decisions and declaring war on another country. This was not war, it was aggression, and it was the violation of human rights against people of one country and against all of humanity. In front of the eyes of the whole world, we saw houses being violated, windows being broken, just under the pretense of finding Saddam Hussein. Can you imagine us coming here and doing the same to this country?

Azza Basarudin and Khanum Shaikh are PhD students in Women’s Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.