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Part Four--Women in Iraq: Womens' Rights Are in
Danger
By: Lee Siu hin
Another negative impact of the US-UK invasion has been to put women's
rights in danger in the "new" Iraq.
"On May 22 around 4:00 P.M. at Baghdad, nine-year-old girl
"saba", was adducted from the stairs of the building where
she lives, taken to an abandoned building nearby, and raped..."
(Human Rights Watch Report: Climate of Fear, July 2003)
According to a Human Rights Watch report Climate of Fear published
in July 2003, as a result of the invasion, women and girls face
increased sexual violence and abduction, which was almost unheard
of during Saddam Hussein's regime.
Elizabeth Hodgkin is Research Coordinator for Amnesty International
in Baghdad. She says the violence against women and girls has created
a state of fear, preventing them from being more active in the society.
"It's certain women feel that now [after April], it is less
safe for them on the street. There's been more killing; women feel
more danger going back and forth from work and school, and participating
in activities. Some girls have been withdrawn from school because
their parents think it's unsafe in the streets," Hodgkin explains.
An accurate count of women and girls victimized by sexual violence
is very difficult to ascertain since many do not report such cases
or even seek medical attention, according to Human Rights Watch.
While the U.S. troika - its occupying forces, the Coalition Provisional
Authorities (CPA) it runs, and its de facto government in Iraq -
is busy securing Iraq's natural resources and hunting Saddam Hussein,
the public security vacuum in Baghdad has heightened the vulnerability
of women and girls to sexual violence and abduction.
According to Hodgkin, there has been an acute rise in "honor
killings" and domestic violence, once suppressed during the
past regime, since the U.S. occupied Iraq last April. A woman becomes
the victim of an "honor killing" when her family feels
she has damaged their reputation by having sex with a man, or even
just by going out with him. This dishonor "entitles" a
male member of her family to "justifiably" murder her.
"These crimes often go unreported, and even when they are reported,
police rarely take any action. So a woman's life is expendable,"
Hodgkin explains.
According to an Amnesty International investigation, there have
been many "honor killings" in Iraq, the vast majority
of which are unreported. There have been no investigations of the
people alleged to have carried out these murders. Police have made
no arrests. Hodgkin explains further, "If you do find a situation
where a woman may have been raped, no matter what the circumstances,
she runs the risk of being murdered by a male relative if she admits
the incident to a family member. So if you think there's a possibility
that a woman has been raped, you'd never go to her family to investigate
the crime for fear of putting her in more danger."
However, Hodgkin still remains optimistic about the role of women
in the post-Saddam era. She says since April, there's been great
boost of activity from all sectors in Iraqi society, including the
formation of many civic and human rights organizations. Although
women are underrepresented in these groups, Hodgkin reports there
are organizations surfacing that have been formed by women and are
run by women. "I think there is great hope for women's activism
in the future. I think this is a period of transition, this is a
period of change; [but] women are still unable to take their rightful
position in the society."
It's not very difficult to see male-domination in Iraq, even though
it's considered one of the most socially open secular countries
in the region. When I interviewed people on the street, males always
dominated the speech, and women always stood aside.
The rise of the Shi'ites in southern Iraq is affecting women's
rights in the post-invasion period. Many worry that replacing Saddam's
secular government with a fundamentalist Islamic government will
undermine women's rights in the future Iraq. Hodgkin believes there
must be positive efforts in every area to ensure that women do have
positive positions. She says, for instance, in the Iraqi Interim
Governing Council that was established in July, of the 25 members
on the Council, only three are woman. Hodgkin believes there must
be stronger efforts made to ensure the rights and the equality of
women in the future constitution and governing body of Iraq.
Sincerely
Lee Siu Hin
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