Jun 18, 2015

BAGHDAD — Women took to the streets of al-Mutanabbi Street in central Baghdad June 2, holding large banners denouncing fasliya marriage — the Arabic word for marriages arranged as compensation, through which tribal conflicts are resolved — which has surfaced in Iraq anew. The return of this type of marriage comes as a result of a frail state and the predominance of tribal values over social life, as well as the exacerbation of conflicts between Iraqi tribes in central and southern areas.

Women who have been placed in a fasliya marriage are not entitled to file for divorce or separation because, according to tribal customs, they are stripped away of any rights.

In Basra in the south of Iraq, tribal disputes worsened with the spread of arms, leading to the death of many civilians. Details on these incidents remain unknown because of the closed nature of tribes. In November 2014, these disputes required the intervention of the Minister of Interior Mohammed al-Ghabban, and the Basra governor, Majid al-Nasrawi, to limit the spread of violence and encourage tribal chieftains to bring the disputes to an end and abide by the law. In a related context, news spread at the end of May 2015 about 50 women engaging in fasliya marriages to settle a dispute between two conflicting tribes in Basra, al-Shawi and al-Karamsha.

On June 2, media consultant for tribal affairs in Basra, Sheikh Mohammad al-Maryani, denied the news and tried to make it sound less grave, saying in a statement to al-Sumaria channel that a crisis broke out between two large tribes in Basra over the death of a woman during an armed conflict between both tribes. Therefore, al-Shawi tribe presented 10 women — not 50 as the media claimed according to al-Maryani — to al-Karamsha tribe for fasliya. The two tribes refused to talk to the media about the incident, claiming it was a personal affair.

At the end of the 1950s, the Iraqi government issued a law forbidding women to be given as blood compensation. The current lax situation and the impotence of consecutive governments led to the return of the once demised tribal customs that are practiced away from the state’s authority.