Alissia Bevan - The Founder

8 The Founder | Wednesday 21 October 2009
Comment & Debate
The forgotten
widows of Iraq
Silent study – shhhhh!
Anne Gree
A
couple of weeks
ago in this very
paper, the former
Editor, Jessica
Freeman, alleged
that degrees were
being “dumbed down”. The following
issue featured a number of
rebuttals of Ms Freeman’s article,
with two writers disagreeing with
her statement that standards have
dropped.
As much as I hate to agree with
such an opinion, I find myself nodding
in agreement as I sit re-reading
Ms Freeman’s article. You see,
I have been sat here on the Third
Floor – the “Silent Study” area – of
Bedford Library for about an hour
now, and I’ve run out of fingers and
toes on which to count the number
of people who clearly don’t understand
the concept of “Silent Study”.
Well I guess it is complicated…
Now, I do not proclaim to be an
outstanding student by any means.
I am hoping for a 2:1 when I graduate
this summer, but I am far from
Masters material. However even I,
with my limited cranial capacity,
am capable of understanding the
idea of Silent Study. If we break it
down we can perhaps enlighten
those people who believe it to mean
“Gossip Corner” (which, incidentally,
is downstairs – the Second
Floor of Bedford Library. You
know, by the Sushi).
Let’s start with the word ‘Silent’.
Last time I checked, that had a
little something to do with being
quiet. That, for those of you who
require further explanation, means
not chatting away to your friend.
Surprising, I know. And now, Holloway,
let’s look at the second word:
study. This generally implies, and
here’s the tricky bit, actually doing
some, well, studying. AKA work.
tf The Founder
Want to work on any part of The Founder?
Not talking. Not phoning your
friend in Wedderburn to see what
happened with “dat fit chick” last
night. Not stage-whispering to your
friend about your sex life. Everyone
can hear it. I learned some very
interesting things earlier today, sat
in this very library, about a male
student wearing a green t-shirt sat
two or three seats down from me.
Chlamydia? Painful I’m sure, but
not nearly as painful as hearing you
talking about it for the last ten minutes.
Embarrassed? Good, maybe
next time you’ll shut up?
Now, those of you who have
understood the gist of this article,
congratulations, you are intelligent
enough to remain at this hallowed
institution of learning. Those of you
who haven’t quite got it yet, can I
suggest going to the library, finding
a dictionary, and looking the words
“Silent Study” up for yourself. I just
hope nobody talks and disturbs
your research. It’s really annoying.
» continued from page 7
but with the constant violence in
Iraq taking these men away, it is
surely more important than ever
that these women be empowered,
and able to acknowledge their own
self-worth, and to fight against the
dictates of their government. Surely
the women have a right to speak
out against the bombings that are
claiming the lives of their husbands
and against religious wars, which
began thousands of years ago, still
claiming the lives of their children.
In a country where violence and
death is a daily occurrence, providing
an education for women, who
are in desperate need of a stable
future, is long overdue. Oxfam
recently revealed in a survey involving
1,700 women in Iraq, that women
are facing high levels of poverty
despite the decrease in violence in
Iraq. The survey report, entitled
‘In Her Own Words’, was released
on International Women’s Day this
year and revealed that there are still
women in Iraq who do not have
access to clean water and cannot
safely send their children to school.
Oxfam’s Iraqi partner organisation,
the Al-Amal Association,
conducted the survey in the five
provinces of Baghdad, Basra,
Kirkuk, Najaf and Nineveh. The
organisation does not claim to represent
the lives of all Iraqis but the
survey does provide a rather harsh
look into the lives of women struggling
to survive in a war-torn country.
According to the survey, 33% of
women had received no humanitarian
aid since 2003. An incredible
76% received no pension from the
government and 40% of women
with children reported that their
children were not attending school.
The survey concluded that the three
main concerns for the women were
safety, electricity and shelter, and
highlighted the horrible decision
forced upon the mothers who are
financially forced into choosing
between their children’s education,
and their children’s healthcare.
The survey also allows its readers
a glimpse into the lives of
the individual women who were
courageous enough to tell their tale.
Firyal, a 24 year old widow, lost
her husband to sectarian violence
in her neighbourhood, which also
took the life of her brother-in-law.
The body of Firyal’s husband was
never found and for this reason
only, Firyal is unable to receive
a pension from the government,
forcing her to return to her parent’s
home to raise her son.
Unfortunately, Firyal’s story is
just one of many similar cases.
Emman was looking forward to her
graduate son’s wedding, when she
heard that both her son and daughter
had been caught in an explosion
three days before the wedding.
Searching frantically through the
hospital for her children, Emman
found their bodies piled on top of
each other in the morgue. Emman
told Oxfam, “I wish I could
see them again. They were the
fruit of my life and the only hope
I had in this world”. Emman and
her husband struggled through
life to afford an education for their
children to better their lives, only
to bury them before their time.
The survey revealed that Emman’s
elderly husband is also suffering
from cancer and is no longer able
to work, forcing Emman to struggle
without a pension, without work,
and without her children.
It appears the Iraqi government
has failed to acknowledge the existence
of their women, who struggle
without compensation or a pension.
For too long now have the women
in Iraq become the forgotten
victims cloaked and hidden behind
their mourning attire. It is time the
world acknowledges that the true
victims are simply ordinary families
living in extraordinary circumstances,
who have fallen victim to a
world in which the basic necessities
of life are no longer available.
There’s always room for more students to get involved in the production and running of The Founder. If you’re interested in any
element of this publication, get in touch with us today:
editor@thefounder.co.uk