Life has changed for those in Iraq.
Long existing disagreements between Sunnis and Shiites have become
conflicts and violence has is prevalent. Ayatollah al-Sistani,
the leading Shiite cleric in Iraq, has issued strict guidelines
against dancing in various situations.
Famous dancer Dahlena traveled to Iraq in
1984 to dance. She found some pleasant surprises. Woman
were encouraged to wear Western clothes, drive and there were ads
encouraging woman to get a education so that they could be "boss
over the men". The situation has changed radically over the
years.
Meena one of Arizona's bellydance
community has been in Iraq helping our Government help the
Iraqis install computers, since right after the US entry into
Baghdad. In November, 2006 she came back to Phoenix for a
short visit. She told of a much less liberal society, today in
Iraq. The fundamentalists control is deeply suppressing the
society discouraging anything related to the arts. Today it is
much more difficult for a woman to walk in public. In
most cases the woman must be escorted and wear a head
covering.
October
29, 2006, New York Times tells of the struggles of the
dancers of the Iraqi National Folklore Group. Once a flourishing
group who danced at the U.N., Paris, 60 countries in all.now
practice without an audience. The group has existed since
1971. Economic sanctions by the UN in th 1990's brought
the tours to a halt but before just the 2003 invasion, the
group was performing
throughout Iraq. Today, in the strict Islam
religion Folkdancing is considered "Harem" forbidden for women.
The women now live in fear of being discovered as performers.
Today, performers, models and those in the arts are affected in
Iraq..
The Iraqis and all our people in Iraq deserve our
special thoughts and prayers. I hope that you will read the article
and send the dancers and artists extra good thoughts and
prayers.,
Also please, consider supporting your local group that is
promoting a Department of Peace in the U.S. Government.. In the
U.S, the Department of Peace will be responsible to develop
policies that address domestic violence, including spousal abuse,
child abuse, and mistreatment of the elderly, promote racial,
religious, and ethnic tolerance and much more.
Internationally, the Department of Peace will provide for the
training of all civilian United States personnel who administer
post-conflict reconstruction and demobilization in war-torn
societies; encourage the development of international sister city
programs, pairing United States cities with cities around the globe
for artistic, cultural, economic, educational, and faith-based
exchanges; and more. These are just 4 or the many
responsibilities of the Department
of Peace.
New
York Times Article (New York Times may move the article in
entirety but can be found by Iraqi National Folklore group in yahoo
search)
Iraqi Folklore Dance Group SlideShow
International
Herald Tribune Article
