Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/tag/iraq/)
“The situation is horrific for women in Mosul,” says the president of the Baghdad-based Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq. Women “are being kidnapped from their house by the ISIS warriors and forced into what they call into a ‘jihad marriage.'”
The draft law has made international headlines, mainly for provisions allowing girls as young as 9 and boys as young as 15 to marry. But when questioned on the likelihood that the text will be passed, one expert said: “I would say it is less than 50 percent.”
A poll of India’s voters in the historic election indicated that 90 percent believe that combatting violence against women should be a priority. Also this week, Iraq may approve a law permitting marriage as early as age 9 with parental consent.
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A petition has been delivered to the Ohio State Legislature demanding an end to a rape-related law. Also this week, a sexual harassment case in one of Egypt’s largest universities has sparked outrage after the school’s dean blamed the woman’s outfit.
About 3,000 Iraqi female candidates are preparing to start campaigning for parliamentary elections, a record high. Also this week, the Senate rejected a bill to remove military commanders from decisions over the prosecution of sexual assault cases in the armed forces.
The Human Rights Watch report documents cases of women illegally detained and sometimes tortured. Far fewer women are in jail than men, but they face a “double burden” of social stigma after release, authors find.
The Iraqi premiere of the play “Nine Parts of Desire” by Heather Raffo opened painful war memories. For players, the playwright and the audience it was a chance to face the past together, in a safe place, and share the benefits of healing catharsis.
Iraqi refugee women in Jordan offer an example of hope and resilience. But their desperate limbo is heartbreaking for Samia Qumri to witness in her work for the Collateral Repair Project, a charity started in 2004.
Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq thousands of women and girls have been trafficked for sexual exploitation, finds a report published today by the London-based Social Change Through Education in the Middle East.
