Professor Kelsey Shanks, Ulster University

The legacy of ISIS territorial control on adolescent’s Right to Education in Iraq: the impact of identity politics

The international community has recognized the danger of a “lost generation” in Iraq and Syria, and global emphasis has been placed on the need to improve services to children affected by the regional crisis. However, an estimated 3.2 million children across Iraq remain out of school. This paper examines the situation of Sunni adolescents from areas previously held under ISIS occupation in Iraq. Drawing on extensive qualitative data collection the paper demonstrates that denied access to education under ISIL has been further compounded by either a complete absence of schools in displacement or extremely limited classroom hours.  The resulting5 years of missed education has served to create a ‘knowledge gap’ that has alienated these adolescents and prevented their re-entry into the formal school system. Furthermore, those few that have overcome the knowledge gap face further administrative obstructions, based largely on sectarian identity. Children with ‘perceived’ family links to ISIS (‘perceived’ links are highly contested and widely applied) have been denied the vital civil identification documents that are required to enrol and sit exams.  Denial of education does not only hamper academic achievements, but it also impacts a child’s emotional and social development and place in society. Given that secondary school is the gateway to further education and improved employment opportunities, the current obstacles are devastating many young people’s hopes for the future. The paper seeks to explore and highlight the implications for this marginalised generation of Sunni adolescents who are entering adulthood without any post primary.  

 

About the speaker

Kelsey Shanks is a Professor at Ulster University and the Global Challenges Research Fund Challenge Leader for Education Research within UK Research and Innovation. Her research agenda focuses on the relationship between education and conflict in divided societies, with an exploration of education’s links to post-conflict stabilisation and peacebuilding agendas. She has conducted extensive research in Iraq, along with work in Ukraine, Syria and Somalia. Kelsey currently holds an AHRC Network Plus Grant, in partnership with the University of Sussex, the University of Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan and the University of Cape Town, South Africa. The project aims to build capacity and enhance knowledge exchange in Central Asia and Southern Africa on political economy analysis of education systems in conflict affected contexts. The PEER Network (Political Economy of Education Network) will run until January 2024.

First published: 1 November 2021

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