By Jumana Al-Waeli
Disclaimer: The names of interviewees in this blog have been changed to protect their identities.
In the shadow of grave injustices that continue to affect Iraq as a result of decades of war and insecurity, one reality remains staggering: the repeated conflicts in Iraq have particularly left a profound impact on its women[1], especially those who had to endure unspeakable horrors during ISIS’s invasion of Mosul and the Nineveh Plain in 2014.
At the time, the main focus was rightly directed towards the harrowing atrocities committed by ISIS against Yazidi women and other minority groups. The media, research community, and humanitarian organisations[2] dedicated their attention and resources to documenting, understanding, and responding to the barbaric acts of genocide, sexual slavery, and systemic violence committed by ISIS. This focus was crucial, given the scale and brutality of the crimes.
Nevertheless, in the broader context of this crisis, the stories of many young women who managed to escape their villages in the Nineveh Plain just before ISIS’s attacks remain largely untold. These women experienced displacement and its immense suffering, often without the opportunity to share their stories of struggles and survival.
For many of these young women, education emerged as their only beacon of hope; a way to envision a better future and regain a sense of life beyond the tents in camps and the crowded places of refuge. Education was not merely an academic pursuit, but a form of resistance, a way to protect their cultural identities and a means to feel alive amid the devastation that had affected their communities. In the face of fear, displacement, and the loss of homes and loved ones, their determination to continue their education provided the young women with a purpose and a path forward.
In this context, it was fundamental to recognise and amplify the voices of women, whose educational experiences were often under-represented during times of extreme adversity for women in Iraq, in order to understand how they conceptualised their social and educational experiences and aspirations.
This blog post introduces the educational stories of 20 young women, aged between 18 and 28, from Nineveh Plain and Mosul. The stories were collected and co-constructed as part of my recent life history study with the young women, which took place between February and June 2024 and focused on the young women’s educational narratives as they navigated life after being internally displaced to different cities in federal Iraq and the Kurdistan region following the 2014 ISIS invasion.
The young women represented different cultural backgrounds, including Yazidi, Shabak, Christian, and Sunni Arab communities. Through their stories, they shared the profound challenges and barriers they faced in accessing and continuing education and the opportunities and motivations that helped them persist and succeed within the complex political, socioeconomic, cultural, and traditional contexts that defined their lives during and after the conflict.
The narratives also provided insights into the women’s different perceptions of social justice in relation to their education within their conflict-affected environments. Moreover, their accounts, influenced by their diverse life paths, socioeconomic backgrounds, and educational levels and affiliations, highlighted the role of formal and informal education in facilitating or impeding sustainable peacebuilding in Iraq.
Refugee education has been central to Jumana’s research
In what follows, I offer a glimpse into the young women’s stories, exploring the detrimental impact of ISIS attacks and the subsequent displacement on their education, while highlighting what education meant to them in the context of their social, economic, and political circumstances.
What the Young Women Shared About Education Through Their Stories
“When I decided to sit my preparatory exams, our relatives said: How could you selfishly think about education and exams while your father is missing? can’t you see the difficult situation your family is in? … but I knew that my father would have wanted me to study and succeed, so I persisted” – Anita, 24 yrs., Yazidi
Displacement is a traumatic and life-changing experience, and for the young women in this research, it often came with additional layers of adversity and challenge. The young women explained how they experienced displacement more profoundly than their male family members and counterparts, particularly when it came to their emotional states and decisions about their lives and education.
Most participants spoke about grappling with a range of emotions, including fear for their own lives and the wellbeing of their families, a sense of responsibility for vulnerable family members, and the devastating loss of loved ones who were missing, killed, or kidnapped by ISIS. Many also experienced a deep sense of guilt for being alive and able to continue with their lives while their communities were in distress and their loved ones were missing, suffering, or dead.
Feelings of guilt were sometimes associated with an immense sense of obligation to give back to those in their close circles, who had sacrificed so much for them. These individuals, often mothers and sisters (but also fathers, brothers and uncles), worked tirelessly to provide for their families, while living in cramped conditions and small tents. Despite these hardships, they often prioritised the education of their young daughters/sisters, losing their own educational or other opportunities and often spending all they had to ensure that those young women could access education.
“My uncles and aunts kept telling my father: why would you trouble yourself, move to another town and spend a lot of money to send your daughters to school? girls are not worth it, they will eventually get married, and you will gain nothing in return” – Shams, 24 yrs., Shabak
The young women spoke of the tensions they experienced as they navigated the complexities of displacement. For many of the young participants, displacement was not a single event but a recurring experience that shaped their entire lives. This was especially true for the Shabaki, Yazidi, and Christian young women involved in the research. Most of the participants from these minority groups faced multiple rounds of forced displacement even before 2014 due to Arabisation, sectarian conflict and demographic changes. The impact of these repeated displacements was profound, affecting not only their personal lives but also their educational experiences. After 2014, many young women were displaced multiple times, driven primarily by fears for their own and their loved ones’ safety, the need to escape inadequate living conditions, or the search for a supportive community. Significantly, many women reported that after their initial escape from ISIS, subsequent relocations were largely motivated by the pursuit of education or better educational opportunities in other cities or countries. In many cases, entire families had to rearrange their lives and relocate to enable their daughters to continue their education. These relocations imposed additional economic burdens and required significant sacrifices. Moreover, they often highlighted the inflexibility of formal educational systems, which frequently failed to accommodate the needs of displaced students despite the challenges of the post-2014 situation.
“I lost many years of my education and had to get married because of ISIS, my parents decided to marry me off while I was only 14 in fear of being taken as a captive by ISIS, but I wanted to study … I had to fight everyone for my education and struggled so much … I eventually got a divorce, and I am trying to pursue education again” – Nour, 23 yrs., Muslim Sunni
The young women emphasised the significance of education as a means of empowerment against injustices, an expression of free will, agency, and resilience, and an essential resource for living “Education is a weapon for women”. This response was echoed by nearly all participants when asked about the importance of education, particularly for women in Iraq. The young women described education as vital for defending their lives, existence, agency, autonomy, and futures. They emphasised that education is especially critical for girls and women because “educated women know their rights”; “can depend on themselves”; and “education will empower … and protect [them]”.
Additionally, many of the young women believed that “females [sic] need their education more than males”, particularly if they have no one else to rely on. They perceived education as a means to combat misogyny, patriarchy, injustice, classism, and restrictive cultural norms.
The young women also stressed that education is not merely about academic learning but is a powerful expression of free will and personal agency. For many participants, pursuing education served as a form of resistance—a way to challenge societal expectations and norms that sought to limit their potential. By seeking education, they were asserting their right to learn, grow, and shape their own futures and opportunities. Moreover, education became a defiant response to those who sought to erase them and their communities; it was a means of resisting elimination, genocide, and “the forces of darkness”. As such, education was crucial in affirming their identity and existence, offering a sense of purpose and direction during uncertainty.
Furthermore, amid the atrocities caused by ISIS attacks and the hardships associated with displacement, education stood out as a critical pillar in the lives of the young women. It represented a source of stability and hope within their social, economic, and political realities. For many participants, education represented a gateway to better job opportunities, a means to provide for their families and address their economic needs, a way to secure a better future for themselves and their loved ones, and a chance to attain higher status within their communities.
The young women also expressed that they needed education to have a buffer against future hardships, opening up possibilities to achieve their dreams beyond a “war-torn country”, and acting as a powerful means for liberation and empowerment.
“I was surrounded by negative talk from my community to the extent that I was constantly crying while studying … the negativity largely affected my family … to the point where my father said he would burn my books … But their words made me stronger instead of weakening me … I told myself I will prove them all wrong, and I will take my exams and succeed .. and so I did” – Christie, 26 yrs., Christian
The young women stressed the importance of education in representing their communities and advocating for their rights. Beyond personal benefits, the young women perceived education as essential for representation on multiple levels—local, cultural, political, and international. They explained how education helped provide them with the knowledge and skills needed to advocate for their rights and those of their communities. For women from minority groups with historical grievances, education was vital for fighting for their rights and seeking justice and equality in contexts that often gravely marginalised them.
Some interviews were conducted in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
This first blog post provided an initial overview of the study conducted with 20 young women in Iraq, following their experiences of displacement during the 2014 ISIS attacks on Mosul and Nineveh Plain. It highlighted the profound significance of education for the participants in light of their social, economic and political circumstances. Subsequent blog posts will explore the barriers these women faced in accessing education and their perspectives on social justice as it relates to their educational experiences, including sharing parts of their stories.
[1] Cortright, D., Romandash, A., & Al-Zoughbi, M. (2023). Women and the Iraq War: 20 years later. Fourth Freedom Forum. https://fourthfreedomforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-Women-and-the-Iraq-War.pdf
[2] See:
Amnesty International. (2014). Iraq: Yezidi women and girls face harrowing sexual violence. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/12/iraq-yezidi-women-and-girls-face-harrowing-sexual-violence/
Hassen, S. H. (2016). Investigating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence as a Weapon of War and a Tool of Genocide against Indigenous Yazidi Women and Girls by ISIS in Iraq.
Omer, A. S., Hama, B. J., Hafid, A. D., Husen, H. A., Rashed, S. A., & Ahmad, M. K. (2016). Yazidi women as odalisques. A historical study about Yazidi women’s conditions under ruling from Islamic State, Sulaimani, 15.
Foster, J. E., & Minwalla, S. (2018). Voices of Yazidi women: Perceptions of journalistic practices in the reporting on ISIS sexual violence. Women’s Studies International Forum, 67, 53-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2018.01.007
Otten, C. (2017, July 25). Slaves of Isis: The long walk of the Yazidi women. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/25/slaves-of-isis-the-long-walk-of-the-yazidi-women
Image Sources
- Image by JULIO VICENTE from Pixabay
- Image by YAMEN DAWOOD from Pixabay
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