Broken home: women’s housing, land and property rights in post-conflict Iraq
New research by the Norwegian Refugee Council reveals that displaced women are much worse off than men: they are 11 per cent more likely to face barriers impeding them from going back home after years of suffering in displacement camps since the end of the war against Islamic State group in their areas of origin.
The barriers include inability to regain access to their property, re-establish ownership and seek compensation for damaged property. Nine per cent of women surveyed across Dohuk, Ninewa, Kirkuk and Anbar governorates said their property was occupied by community or tribal leaders, militias and security forces.
Of over 1,000 women surveyed, 43 per cent rejected the statement that women had a right to own all types of property, despite Iraqi law that protects women’s housing, land and property rights. One in five women said, erroneously, that under Iraqi law women were not entitled to property following divorce, and 18 per cent said they had no inheritance rights. One in three said that in reality women received nothing following divorce and nearly one in four (23 per cent) said they had no inheritance rights in practice.
NRC surveyed 1,002 people, held 64 focus group discussions and held 59 in-depth interviews across the four conflict-affected governorates. The results also indicate that the mere suspicion of affiliation to IS group may deny women the right to prove their ownership on homes and lands even if they possess official documents.
Making their situation worse, the ongoing Covid-19 measures, including the shutdown of law courts and of legal dispute resolution services, as well as loss of livelihoods, make women even more vulnerable. A recent assessment by NRC found that 64 per cent of respondents in rented houses predicted that they would not be able to pay rent in the next three months, with 42 per cent of them expecting to be evicted as a result.
Laylan Camp - Kirkuk
Iraq has experienced repeated cycles of conflict, massive displacement and destruction over the past three decades. The most recent war with Islamic State group witnessed unprecedented destruction of homes and infrastructure in north and central Iraqi cities and towns, with at least 138,000 homes damaged or destroyed. More than six million Iraqis fled their homes during the conflict with IS. Many of those who have managed to return to their original villages and towns still struggle to secure a home and effectively rebuild their lives. But it is women who are paying the highest price in Iraq.
New research by the Norwegian Refugee Council found that women were 11 per cent more likely to live in an overcrowded shelter compared with men. Women were nine per cent more likely than men to fear that they will be evicted. This was a particular issue for women who had returned after displacement, who are 14 per cent more likely to fear an eviction in the coming six months, compared to male returnees. Overall nine per cent, nearly one in 10, of displaced women, report their property as occupied by community or tribal leaders, militias and security forces.
Photo: Helen Baker/NRC
