War and Conflict:Gendering Violence and Peace in the Middle East - Essay Example

With the accounts that Nadje has included in her book, I feel that no one had expected the war to be such a lengthy affair that it would last for nearly eight years. This is exactly why the conflict had become unpopular amongst the people for it not only had deprived every single person of their loved one but also added extra pressure upon the women to replace the loss of life in the battlefield. Though everybody knew that the war had done more damage than good, raising their voice against the dictatorship of Saddam only earned the masses his ire and further exacerbated the living conditions for them.

While men fought and lost their lives in the battlefield, women were required to take on roles of the sole breadwinner of the family. They worked in the capacity of factory workers and even drove trucks – much like the events that transpired during the World War II, which culminated in feminist movement. The authorities must have feared the changing dynamics of the genders, which forced them to come up with propagandas to restore the male dominance and patriarchy in the society. Despite the fact that in pre-war Iraq, women’s right and freedom were becoming a popular subject of discussion, now the authorities were effectively relegating them to the status of a being that is subservient to man.

The authorities promoted marriages and also encouraged women to have as many children as they could in order to make up for the loss incurred at the battlefield. This is evident when Nadje describes the tactics used by the Iraqi officials who wished to boost the morale of the Iraqi men at war by glorifying their acts, deeming it a heroic gesture. They further underlined that their bravery was needed to bring the war to a speedy end so that they can return back to their women, who were heavily dependent on them.

Even though previous accounts of Iraqi