Security
Post-war Iraq has been an unsafe place for everyone, but especially for women. There have been repeated instances of women staying indoors and not going in public without an escort due to safety concerns. Many Iraqis have prevented their daughters from returning to schools and universities. Others only allow them to return to schools that are guarded by armed personnel.
"There have been lots of incidents of kidnapping of women and girls so much that it's becoming actually a restriction on women's movement outside of the door in Iraq." says Zainab Salbi.
According to the 16 July 2003 Human Rights Watch report, the root of women's fear is the failure of Iraqi and U.S. led security forces is the source of the pervasive fear of rape and abduction.
"Women and girls today in Baghdad are scared, and many are not going to schools or jobs or looking for work," said Hanny Megally, executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch.
If women are to play an active role in the rebuilding of Iraq and the democratic process, their physical security must be an urgent priority.
Human Rights Watch reported that there were twenty-five credible allegations of rape or abduction since May. Due to lack of security personnel throughout the country, investigations into sexual crimes and abductions have been virtually neglected or ignored.
"Iraqi and U.S. military police continue to receive reports of abductions of women but mechanisms are wholly inadequate for processing these cases," Megally stated.
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