The Limits of Admittance and Diversity in Iraqi Kurdistan: Femininity and the Body of Du'a Khalil

Abstract

Concerns of racial, ethnic and religious divisions and establishing a culture whereby people from diverse backgrounds can live together in peace are central issues within discourses and representations of Iraq today. The violent clashes between Yezidi and Muslims in Northern Iraq during 2007 bespeak the limits of tolerance and commitment toward living together with a respect for each other's differences that upholds the right to preserve and practice these. This violence gives voice to the terrifying and extreme consequences of the breakdown in peace between different people who occupy the same geographical space. Generally perceived as inflamed by the brutal killing of Yezidi teenager Du'a Khalil, this breakdown in the erstwhile – albeit short‐term – peace between Muslims and Yezidi undoubtedly concerns issues of the increasing politicisation of religion, sectarian and ethnic divisions, feminine sexuality and the boundaries of community. Sacrificed for the honour of her family, for some Du'a is the victim of ancient religious or tribal traditions, the brutality of the barbaric and an unthinkable human rights violation.1 For others Du'a is a traitor to her family, to her community and to her religion. This article discusses the ways in which feminine embodiment signals the most valued possession and at the same time presents as the greatest threat to community. Paradoxically, as compellingly expressed by Rey Chow, the site of feminine difference both ensures divisions between diverse peoples and signals the potential erasure of these. 1Sanchita Hosali (ed.) Selected International Human Rights Materials Addressing ‘Crimes of Honour’ CIMEL/Interights Project on Strategies to Address ‘Crimes of Honour’ (2003). http://www.soas.ac.uk/honourcrimes.