The War against Iraqi women
By Zeina Zaatari
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Iraqi women's organizations and international observers point to an
escalating war against women in Iraq, aided by the widespread chaos and
lawlessness under United States occupation. In addition to violence by
American troops inside and outside of prisons, women in Iraq face daily
violence from militants under the guise of religion and "liberation."
In Iraq's second largest city, Basra, a stronghold of conservative Shiite
groups, as many as 133 women were killed last year for violating "Islamic
teachings" and in so-called "honor killings," according to the United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The methods
are brutal evidence of a backlash by previously subdued tribal forces
that have
been unleashed by the occupation: women strangled and beheaded, and their
hands, arms and legs chopped off.
With US forces in Iraq now funding both Sunni and Shiite tribal leaders in
an effort to stabilize the country, conditions for women grow deadlier by
the day. Islamist leaders have imposed new restrictions on women,
including
prohibitions on work, bans on travel without a muhram (male guardian), and
compulsory veiling.
According to the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), formed in
Baghdad in 2003, women are harassed if they appear in the streets of most
Iraqi cities and towns, educational institutions, or work places. Now
there
are even "no woman zones" in some southern cities controlled by Islamist
parties and tribal leaders.
Honor killings of Iraqi women are justified by alleged promiscuity or
adultery. In fact, the practice targets holders of PhDs, professionals,
political activists, and office workers. "Politically active women, those
who did not follow a strict dress code, and women human rights defenders
were increasingly at risk of abuse, including by armed groups and
religious
extremists," Amnesty International said in its 2007 report.
Indeed, a top police official in Basra reported that as many as 15 women
are killed every month in the city. Ambulance drivers in Basra, paid to
"clean
the streets" before people go to work, pick up many more bodies of women
every morning.
Ironically, the forces leading this assault on women had little or no
power
under Saddam Hussein. But, following the US-led invasion in 2003, southern
Iraq was opened to forces known as Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of
Vice (PVPV) - militant gangs and individuals committed to archaic Islamic
rule and suppression of women's rights.
Some members of these groups now serve in government, others in militias
or
as self-appointed vigilantes or hired guns. The goal of the PVPV is to
confine women to the domestic realm and end all female participation in
public and political life.
To date, Iraqi officials have not been willing to deal with this
escalating
violence against women, or even discuss it. But, as elected
representatives, they are obligated to address these crimes. So must the
US. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, the responsibility for
protecting civilians in an
occupied country belongs to the occupying forces, which, in this case, are
clearly failing to protect Iraqi women.
Two measures are urgently needed. First, the Iraqi government must
immediately establish "Protection of Women" security patrols in Iraq's
southern cities. These patrols must receive gender-sensitive training and
prioritize women's security over tribal or fundamentalist religious
values.
Second, pursuant to its obligations under the Geneva Convention, the
United
States must immediately take steps to protect the lives and freedoms of
Iraqi civilians. Unless the Americans do so, they must withdraw from Iraq,
because the occupation would merely continue to sustain a breeding ground
for violence against women.
The timetable for action is not subject to debate. It must begin today.
Zeina Zaatari is senior program officer for the Middle East and North
Africa at the Global Fund for Women. THE DAILY STAR publishes this
commentary in
collaboration with Project Syndicate (c) (www.project-syndicate.org).
--
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http://jmm.aaa.net.au/
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