Violence against Iraqi Women
While we celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we have
to remember the violence against Iraqi women.
In one of the most secular country in the Arab world, where women were until recently a visible and
integrated part of public life, females have all but disappeared. The lawlessness, brought by the
occupation forces into Iraq, is felt disproportionately by young women and girls who have yet to finish
their education.
Immediately after the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the U.S. army failed to establish effective authority
and security of their own. And because of the power vacuum that developed when the Iraqi regime
collapsed, there was a complete breakdown of law and order encouraged by the invading forces.
According to Amnesty International, "violence against women and girls has sharply increased in Iraq
compared to the time before last year's war". Iraqi women faceing arrest; torture, including rape; and
even execution simply because their husbands or male relatives were sought by the occupation forces"
(1). Women detainees and Iraqi Prisoners of War (POWs) arrested without charge by the occupying forces
are denied humane treatment and rights under the Geneva Conventions and International laws. [1]
Amnesty International: 31 March 2004.
Women and girls in Iraq live in fear of violence. The current lack of security has forced many women out
Iraq fleeing to neighboring countries (Syria and Jordan) as refugees. Neither Syria nor Jordan has signed
the 1951 Refugee Convention, and refugees live in fear of arrest and detention. Refugees in Syria and
Lebanon are considered illegal residents and have no right to residence or work permits, and most of
Iraqi refugees live on the informal status.
Because of their residency situations, Iraqi women and girls are manipulated and used in illegal issues (i.
e. prostitution). Most of the Iraqi women turned to prostitution appeared to be in their late teens and
early 20s. Damascus represents one of the most troubling aspects of the Iraqi refugee crisis — Iraqi
women and girls who are turning to prostitution to survive in countries that have taken them in but won't
let them or their families work at most other jobs.
No reliable figures of Iraqi prostitutes exist, but an increase in the number of Iraqi women seen in recent
months in clubs and on the streets of Damascus, Amman and other cities suggests the problem is
growing as more Iraqis flee their country's violence.
While we celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we have
to remember the violence against Iraqi women.
In one of the most secular country in the Arab world, where women were until recently a visible and
integrated part of public life, females have all but disappeared. The lawlessness, brought by the
occupation forces into Iraq, is felt disproportionately by young women and girls who have yet to finish
their education.
Immediately after the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the U.S. army failed to establish effective authority
and security of their own. And because of the power vacuum that developed when the Iraqi regime
collapsed, there was a complete breakdown of law and order encouraged by the invading forces.
According to Amnesty International, "violence against women and girls has sharply increased in Iraq
compared to the time before last year's war". Iraqi women faceing arrest; torture, including rape; and
even execution simply because their husbands or male relatives were sought by the occupation forces"
(1). Women detainees and Iraqi Prisoners of War (POWs) arrested without charge by the occupying forces
are denied humane treatment and rights under the Geneva Conventions and International laws. [1]
Amnesty International: 31 March 2004.
Women and girls in Iraq live in fear of violence. The current lack of security has forced many women out
Iraq fleeing to neighboring countries (Syria and Jordan) as refugees. Neither Syria nor Jordan has signed
the 1951 Refugee Convention, and refugees live in fear of arrest and detention. Refugees in Syria and
Lebanon are considered illegal residents and have no right to residence or work permits, and most of
Iraqi refugees live on the informal status.
Because of their residency situations, Iraqi women and girls are manipulated and used in illegal issues (i.
e. prostitution). Most of the Iraqi women turned to prostitution appeared to be in their late teens and
early 20s. Damascus represents one of the most troubling aspects of the Iraqi refugee crisis — Iraqi
women and girls who are turning to prostitution to survive in countries that have taken them in but won't
let them or their families work at most other jobs.
No reliable figures of Iraqi prostitutes exist, but an increase in the number of Iraqi women seen in recent
months in clubs and on the streets of Damascus, Amman and other cities suggests the problem is
growing as more Iraqis flee their country's violence.
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