ŞÎNYAR BAYÎZ

Sulaymaniyah - Men often see polygamy, a product of the patriarchal mentality, as their legitimate right. They have more than one spouse at the same time by using women’s health problems as an excuse. NuJINHA spoke to Rasan Organization Director Tanya Darwish about this phenomenon.

“The law was amended”

Speaking about the Iraqi Personal Status Law, she said, “The Iraqi Personal Status Law was amended in 2008-2009 to increase the legal restrictions to polygamy thanks to the efforts of women activists.

“Health problems are used as a threat”

When women have health problems and cannot fulfill their responsibilities, men see this as an opportunity to have more than one spouse, Tanya Darwish said, “Men, who think having more than one spouse as their legitimate right, do not care of its psychological effects on women. When women face health problems, men should support them instead of causing problems deteriorating women’s health. They must support women to feel better.” 

“Inequality has become a culture”

“Inequality has become a culture due to the patriarchal mentality in Kurdish society,” Tanya Darwish said, “When a woman gets sick, society allows men to marry another woman. However, when a man gets sick, society sees it strange for women to remarry. When women do not have a child due to their spouse, they never leave them because the patriarchal society imposes this idea on women.”

“Women’s organizations should carry out awareness-raising activities”

Underling that the education provided by families can eliminate this inequality phenomenon to some extent, Tanya Darwish said, “Education affects the opinion of individuals. Women sometimes remain under the influence of men. Women’s organizations should be more active and they should carry out awareness raising activities about women’s rights.”