“I faced bullying, abuse and bullying as a result of my participation in the October protests (popular protests in Iraq in October last year against the deteriorating economic and political conditions). One day, I was accused of having the clan acquitted me because of unfounded insult that was published and circulated on the communication sites. As a result, I resorted to my uncles in the clan, and asked them to regain my right, and they reassured me and told me that I am their daughter, and they will not be silent about the insult. ”Thus spoke the activist Rabab Al-Ziyadi / Al-Muthanna.

Rabab Al-Ziyadi: A tribal session was held between my clan and the clan of the aggressor man, in the presence of more than 40 clans from the governorate (Al-Jazeera)

She demands to recover her right and the clan responds

She added that she was subjected to a fall and a threat on social media, and then someone promoted that the Ziyadi clan disavowed her and sent her messages, and the issue stopped her and decided to have a position, so I went to my clan and asked them to regain my right.

Dropping is the demeaning of a person and his social, political, scientific or historical status to a lower degree, and this is usually related to similar concepts such as distortion, lying and slander.

Al-Ziyadi explains that a tribal session was held between her clan and the clan of the aggressor, and in the presence of more than 40 clans from the governorate with the offer of slander, and the behavior was rejected and denounced by the aggressor's clan and other clans, and they asked to apologize.

And she adds, "Indeed, this happened when the aggressor came with his clan to my house, and they apologized for the presence of my clan and my uncles from the tribal sheikhs and notables in Muthanna, and the aggressor's clan paid a sum of money for the moral damage I suffered."

Human rights defender Sarah Jasim: Activist Rabarab resorted to the clan to take her rights due to the weakness of the law (Al-Jazeera)

Clan and state authority

Human rights defender Sarah Jassim commented on Rabab's case by saying that the activist resorted to the clan to take her rights "as a result of the weakness of the law," forcing the individual to resort to the clans to protect himself in the fastest time and easiest ways and costs, which burdens the complainant from appointing a lawyer and reviews while the tribal council gets Quick compensation and an apology without waiting, she said.

And Dr.

Nouri al-Tamimi, one of the sheikhs of the Bani Tamim clans, indicated that the Iraqi society is a tribal peasant society, and with the development that occurred in 1920 and the development of cities, this was accompanied by the migration of customs to Baghdad, as the social structure of cities changed into a clan civil structure.

Dr..

Nouri Al-Tamimi: There are many tribal Sunnahs concerned with supporting the oppressed, confronting oppressors, and social solidarity (Al-Jazeera)

"We are advocates of a civil state ruled by law, and at the same time we preserve our origins and the positive features of clanism," he added. "There are many excellent tribal traditions concerned with understanding, assistance, supporting the oppressed, confronting the oppressor, social solidarity and respecting human privacy."

But the great overlap between cities and between the clans lost many clans their original and noble privacy, and these norms began to be subject to the whims and trade of some whims of traffickers in the name of clans with the emergence of negative phenomena after 2003, including extortion, encroachment, usurpation of the rights of others, transgression from others, and so on, according to Tamimi.

Tribal sheikhs flock to a tribal session to support activist Rabab (Al-Jazeera)

Women between clans and civil society

Sarah Jassim believes that the role of clans in restoring women's rights is weak, and women or their families rarely ask tribal leaders to intervene in resolving their cases.

Because of the tribal customs that govern the reality of women.

The official judiciary is unable to protect her within the clan from persecution, so how can we rely on them to obtain her rights - according to Jasim - when we find some clans violating women's rights in cases of early marriage and lustful situations (and nahwah is an old tribal custom that prohibits a girl from marrying a man alien to the clan), and even Murder for reasons that justify the allegation of washing of shame, according to activist Sarah, tribal male domination that governs women's personal status.

Civil activist Ali Al-Waeli: The clan's intervention in the law leads to its disruption and the loss of the rights of those affected (Al-Jazeera)

For his part, civil activist and head of the Sumer Foundation for Human Rights, Ali Al-Waeli, pointed out that the clan's intervention in the law leads to its disruption and loss of the rights of those affected. “Resorting to the courts and applying the law ensures that justice is achieved by holding the perpetrator accountable and compensating the injured, and this is a feature of advanced societies seeking to build the state. Civil society, and effective Iraqi laws have guaranteed women's rights and preservation of their dignity and freedom.

As for the interference of the clan, it may lead to the wasting of these rights and freedoms due to the prevailing social norms and tribal customs, and there is also great difficulty in achieving cooperation between civil society organizations and the clan.

Because the latter does not believe in what these organizations seek to achieve, the clan sees its own law, and the principles of civil society regarding women, their freedom and rights are not accepted by the tribal mind, according to Al-Waili.

Clan sheikhs and strengthening the positive side of positive habits (Al-Jazeera)

As for Al-Tamimi, he says, "We hope that the clan will have a positive stance in support of women and their advancement, and we look at the mother, sister, daughter and wife, who is a creative, educated and scholar, and we look with respect and appreciation to our partner in life and the homeland, for the Iraqi woman has recorded pages of sacrifice and redemption for her."

He added, "My respect for all indigenous Iraqi tribes and for everyone who respects human values ​​and believes in establishing a civil state does not mean the abolition of tribalism; rather, it means strengthening the positive side and moving forward with our positive habits."

Human rights defender Khaled Al-Badr: The clan is the incubator in which the Iraqi citizen lives on the social side (Al-Jazeera)

Clans in law

The human rights defender Khaled Al-Badr affirms that "the clan is the incubator to which the Iraqi citizen lives on the social side, because it is an extension of the family as a social unit dominated by solidarity and a tool for social control for individuals who violate norms and values."

As for the view of Iraqi law specifically, Article (45/2) of the Iraqi constitution stipulates the following: (The state is keen on advancing Iraqi tribes and clans, and takes care of their affairs in a manner that is consistent with religion and law, and promotes their noble human values, in a way that contributes to the development of society and prevents tribal norms that It is inconsistent with human rights).

A clan session in Beit Rabab (Al Jazeera)

Al-Badr states that the constitutional text is clear in adopting tribal and tribal norms as a human value whenever they are in agreement with religion, law and human rights. Clans in Iraq are an imposed and inherited reality, and they play a complementary and later role to the rule of law, and their importance is to heal the rift, end the dispute, and achieve reconciliation between the conflicting parties through financial settlements or Friendly, clan is an important social affiliation; But it cannot be above the law or a substitute for belonging to the country and the state.