Sunday, June 08, 2008
Answers From Iraqi Women, Part V
BAGHDAD — Welcome to the final installment of a weeklong Q&A with Iraq women. Today’s post features a questions from readers about the hijab, women’s equality and video excerpts from a number of our interviews.
As always, we stress that this is not a news survey. Opinions expressed here are those of the person asked; they may not reflect the views of a majority of women in Iraq. Read more …
Q. Can woman be allowed to make their own choice to wear hijab or not?
— Posted by Mike Oliker
Listen to the answer (mp3)
Nidhal Toma, 53-year-old Christian
“If I feel comfortable then I will not hesitate to take off my hijab.”
Q. Since the invasion, have you become more limited in your day-to-day living (education, travel, employment, etc.) specifically because of gender?
— Posted by Nicole
Listen to the answer (mp3)
Sundos Turki, 44
“There is no traveling. No education. All the doors are closed in our faces.”
Thanks to everyone who sent in a question. To submit a suggestion for a future Q&A topic, please use the comment box below.
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BAGHDAD — Welcome to Part 3 of a weeklong Q&A with Iraq women. Today’s post features questions from readers on female politicians and talking to children about the war.
As always, we stress that this is not a news survey. Opinions expressed here are those of the person asked; they may not reflect the views of a majority of women in Iraq.
BAGHDAD — Welcome to Part 3 of a weeklong Q&A with Iraq women. Today’s post features questions from readers on female politicians and talking to children about the war.
As always, we stress that this is not a news survey. Opinions expressed here are those of the person asked; they may not reflect the views of a majority of women in Iraq.
Coming tomorrow: questions on women’s rights and access to education.
Q. Do you predict female leadership in Iraq in the future?
— Posted by Tom White
Listen to the answer (mp3)
Um Mustafa, 37-year-old housewife
“The men can not control the situation so how can the women?”
Q. How do you explain this war to your children?
— Posted by Mariana B
Listen to the answer (mp3)
Um Sara, 49-year-old Shiite
“I tell them that Allah cursed and sent them to work against us.”
BAGHDAD — Welcome to Part 2 of a weeklong Q&A with Iraq women. Today’s post features questions from readers about respect for women, happiness and security and what it is like to wear an abaya.
As always, we stress that this is not a news survey. Opinions expressed here are those of the person asked; they may not reflect the views of a majority of women in Iraq.
Coming tomorrow: questions on women as politicians and talking to children about the war.
Q. Do you, as an Iraqi women, feel happier or more secure since the American invasion of Iraq?
— Posted by Kinza
Listen to the answer (mp3)
Hiba Hussain, 24-year-old Shiite
“I quit school because of the security situation and because I was once kidnapped. So I left my education behind.”
Q. What is it physically like under an abaya or completely covered up in other clothing?
— Posted by Lisa Saffer
Listen to the answer (mp3)
Hiba Hussain, 24-year-old Shiite
“Young men really like to stare at uncovered women and their beauty. So I consider the hijab protection for me.”
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BAGHDAD — Welcome to Part 2 of a weeklong Q&A with Iraq women. Today’s post features questions from readers about respect for women, happiness and security and what it is like to wear an abaya.
As always, we stress that this is not a news survey. Opinions expressed here are those of the person asked; they may not reflect the views of a majority of women in Iraq.
Coming tomorrow: questions on women as politicians and talking to children about the war.
Q. Do you, as an Iraqi women, feel happier or more secure since the American invasion of Iraq?
— Posted by Kinza
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June 2, 2008, 8:03 am
Answers From Iraqi Women
By Eric OwlesVideo
BAGHDAD — We had been walking around for an hour asking women questions sent in by our readers when Rawdha Abbas, a 50-year-old Shiite woman, agreed to be interviewed on camera.
Ms. Abbas was dressed in expensive, colorful clothes and shopping in Karada, one of the nicer neighborhoods in the Iraqi capital. As we talked on a busy street corner, Ms. Abbas began to list the various ways that women are not respected in Iraq today. “They are searching us in an unreasonable way,” Ms. Abbas said. Women are shouted at in government offices and forced to pay bribes, she added. Finally, my interpreter asked, “Don’t you feel any freedom now?”
Ms. Abbas answered: “What is the meaning of freedom? There is no security!”
The Iraqi women we interviewed answered readers’ questions about shopping, politics, raising children, visiting relatives and women’s rights. Their responses often touched on the impact of the war and revealed the far-reaching influence of bombings, snipers and checkpoints on everyday life.
I was accompanied by Anwar J. Ali, a journalist working for The Times in Iraq. She acted as my interpreter, and also made the first contact with women. She would approach them, on the streets and in shops, while I hung a few feet back with my video equipment tucked inside a bag. Anwar would explain who we were and ask permission to film an interview.
Most often the answer was no. Some women would agree to an interview only if their faces would not be shown (audio from some of these interviews is available below, with the questions and answers translated into English). Others did not want their names to be used. These women are identified as Um, which translates to “the mother of.” Um Mustafa, for example, means “the mother of Mustafa.”
Q. If you currently have children, do you plan to have more? Or if you don’t currently have children, do you plan to have one?
— Posted by Ann Wilensky
Listen to the answer (mp3)
Asmaa Adnan, 22-year-old Shiite
“We are unable to meet our own needs. So how can we meet our children’s needs then?”
Q. What kind of meals and dishes does the family eat now and how is it prepared? Does this differ from before the American war/occupation and, if so, in what way and why?
— Posted by lois
Listen to the answer (mp3)
Israa Fadhul, 19-year-old Shiite
“Before we didn’t have Pepsi. It was hard to find. And now we’ve stopped drinking water.”
Q. Do you have friends or relatives that are Sunni and of different Shi’ite groups? What has happened to those relationships? What do you see happening to those relationships when the Americans leave?
— Posted by Deborah Levine
Listen to the answer (mp3)
Athraa Hussain, 18-year-old Shiite student
“We have relationships and those relationships continue whether the Americans are here or not.”
We’ll be publishing more answers from Iraqi women in video and audio formats for the rest of the week. Coming tomorrow: questions on respect for women, happiness, security and what it is like to wear an abaya. And we’ll provide video of our interview with Ms. Abbas.
To submit a suggestion for a future Q&A topic, please use the comment box below.
BAGHDAD — We had been walking around for an hour asking women questions sent in by our readers when Rawdha Abbas, a 50-year-old Shiite woman, agreed to be interviewed on camera.
Ms. Abbas was dressed in expensive, colorful clothes and shopping in Karada, one of the nicer neighborhoods in the Iraqi capital. As we talked on a busy street corner, Ms. Abbas began to list the various ways that women are not respected in Iraq today. “They are searching us in an unreasonable way,” Ms. Abbas said. Women are shouted at in government offices and forced to pay bribes, she added. Finally, my interpreter asked, “Don’t you feel any freedom now?”
Ms. Abbas answered: “What is the meaning of freedom? There is no security!”
The Iraqi women we interviewed answered readers’ questions about shopping, politics, raising children, visiting relatives and women’s rights. Their responses often touched on the impact of the war and revealed the far-reaching influence of bombings, snipers and checkpoints on everyday life.
I was accompanied by Anwar J. Ali, a journalist working for The Times in Iraq. She acted as my interpreter, and also made the first contact with women. She would approach them, on the streets and in shops, while I hung a few feet back with my video equipment tucked inside a bag. Anwar would explain who we were and ask permission to film an interview.
Most often the answer was no. Some women would agree to an interview only if their faces would not be shown (audio from some of these interviews is available below, with the questions and answers translated into English). Others did not want their names to be used. These women are identified as Um, which translates to “the mother of.” Um Mustafa, for example, means “the mother of Mustafa.”
As always, we like to stress that this is not a news survey. Opinions expressed here may not reflect the views of a majority of women in Iraq.
Q. If you currently have children, do you plan to have more? Or if you don’t currently have children, do you plan to have one?
— Posted by Ann Wilensky
Listen to the answer (
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