During their international advancement, Daesh took control of Mosul and key western cities of Iraq in 2014. Compounding decades of conflict and discriminatory norms, they systematically enslaved, raped and persecuted women, restricted their movement, dress, social opportunities and access to education, healthcare and the job market. Women and men experienced violent and brutal corporal punishment for breach of patriarchal social codes of conduct.
The counter-terrorism strategy led by Iraqi and US-led coalition forces was a military operation called “We are Coming’. Using thousands of air strikes over 9 months, and heavy ground attacks, they ‘liberated’ Mosul in July 2017. Explosive weapons with crude targeting abilities wreaked havoc in densely-populated West Mosul and took the lives of thousands of civilians. The local population was under siege and treated as hostile, potentially hostile or victims.
Today, 1.8 million displaced Iraqis are living in camps, still unable to return to their homes; many are labelled as terrorists and denied access to justice or due process. The explosive weapons destroyed fundamental infrastructure for healthcare, education and the economy. Women and girls have been disproportionately impacted. They continue to experience stigmatisation, marginalisation and sexual exploitation, and at the same time have increasing economic responsibilities without the rights or opportunities to realise them.
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and ASUDA Organisation in KRI, studies the gendered consequences that the military operations have had on the lives of women and girls in Mosul, and the role civil society plays in building peace. We invite you to a panel discussion at GCSP to launch the outcome report with Khanim Lateef, founder of ASUDA organization, Sarah Boukhary, Interim MENA Co-Director, Ray Acheson, WILPF’s Disarmament Programme Director, and Omar Mohammed, historian and founder of Mosul Eye, to discuss:
- How did the military strategy adopted by coalition forces impact on the rights of the women of Mosul, and what is the legacy for their social, economic and political rights?
- What more needs to be done to restrict and prohibit the use and transfer of explosive weapons in populated areas?
- What can a holistic gendered analysis offer to humanitarian relief efforts?
- What next for the people of Mosul, a (inclusive) political resolution to the conflict and sustainable peace?
With the participation of:
- Khanim Lateef, Founder, ASUDA organization
- Sarah Boukhary, MENA Advocacy Coordinator, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
- Ray Acheson, Disarmament Program Director, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
- Omar Mohammed, Historian and Founder of Mosul Eye
- Fleur Heyworth, Moderator and GCSP Head of Gender and Inclusive Security