... recent calls by the Kurdish MP Narmin Osman to outlaw honour killings have been blocked by fundamentalists. "Honour killings are not actually a crime in the eyes of the government," said Houzan Mahmoud, who has had a fatwa on her head since raising a petition against the introduction of sharia law in Kurdistan. "If before there was one dictator persecuting people, now almost everyone is persecuting women.

"In the past five years it is has got [much] worse. It is difficult to described how terrible it is, how badly we have been pushed back to the dark ages. Women are being beheaded for taking their veil off. Self immolation is rising - women are left with no choice. There is no government body or institution to provide any sort of support. Sharia law is being used to underpin government rule, denying women their most basic human rights."

[...]

The new Iraqi constitution, according to Mrs Mahmoud, is a mass of confusing contradictions. While it states that men and women are equal under law it also decrees that sharia law - which considers one male witness worth two females - must be observed. The days when women could hold down key jobs or enjoy any freedom of movement are long gone. The fundamentalists have sent out too many chilling messages. In Mosul two years ago, eight women were beheaded in a terror campaign.

"It was really, really horrifying," said Mrs Mahmoud. "Honour killings and murder are widespread. Thousands [of people] ... have become victims of murder, violence and rape - all backed by laws, tribal customs and religious rules. We urge the international community, the government to condemn this barbaric practice, and help the women of Iraq."

The Independent/UK

The Iraqi women in the program would be able to search other females at security checkpoints, expanding the capabilities of the Sons of Iraq currently manning the checkpoints.

Read more here:dvidshub.net

This raises an interesting question about the U.S. perception of the life of Iraqi women pre and post Saddam. In her book, "Between Two Worlds:  Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam"Zainab Salbi reveals what her life was like growing up and living under Saddam's regime and inside his inner circle. Salbi gives a riveting view of life in Iraq before the U.S. invasion and shortly thereafter. She addresses the West's view of Saddam's "liberation" of women with respect to property rights and divorce. She refutes the notion that he was in any way pro-woman. He was a rapist and terrorized millions of people. These "freedoms" he granted were largely for show and at his whim. Given Salbi's point of view, I find it interesting that the opponents of the war cited his pro-woman leadership as a reason not to go to war. Consequently, Salbi is also the founder of Women for Women International, a non-profit organization that advocates for women in war torn countries where rape has been used as a tactic of war.

I applaud the Times and their effort to give voice to Iraqi women. However, I can't help but wonder if videotaping their political opinions in view of anyone on the street might not put them in harm's way. I guess I'm not so sure how much of a balanced response they will get to readers' questions. Under Saddam, saying or implying the wrong opinion was a death sentence to a person and their families. That horrific legacy coupled with the current violence and instability may not lend itself to accurate coverage of womens' political views, at least not with a video camera.

Perhaps there is another way to reach out to Iraqi women and assess their needs?
I will be curious to see the results of this effort and will be following it on my blog.

read more | digg story

Only one of the visiting administrators was a woman, Amina Namma Al-Thwani, dean of the Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Baghdad. She spoke about the status of women and education in Iraq and proudly told us that, despite the many years of war and resulting hardships women faced in their daily lives, they make up the majority of university students. Iraqi women view education as crucial, she said, and often make sacrifices to ensure that their children can attend school. She also remarked that the first female minister of higher education in the Arab world was a woman from Iraq, appointed in the 1940s.

While we were meeting, new conflicts were occurring in Basra and Baghdad — home to four of the visitors. It was humbling to see how dedicated these men and woman are to improving their educational institutions even as the violence in their cities continues.

As we stood together for photos, the administrators thanked us for hosting them. Amina Al-Thwani was grateful to have made contact with an organization specifically supporting women in higher education. She is looking forward to telling her students about AAUW and asked for a membership brochure. We felt an international gap had been bridged as we stood together, all persons sharing the common goal of improving educational opportunities for women around the world.

Read more here:debka.com

I normally do not post suicide bombings but this really took the prise for desperation and cruelty.

The biggest reason for not posting is the inevitable body count that anti-war losers use as a tool on their blogs with pride and disrespect of our fallen warriors who did not ask for war but fight it as their duty with honor.

This is Islam at its finest. Women have no rights in Islam they are nothing more than property and baby makers.

I would urge the so called peaceful “submissive” Muslims to protest in outrage over this gruesome act of cruelty

East Los Angeles, Calif. native 2nd Lt. Lauren Cabral, a maintenance officer with the 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, helps an Iraqi woman get comfortable with the AK-47 automatic rifle during a weapons familiarization class, Oct. 10, that was part of the training for the first group of female Iraqi security volunteers in Baghdad's Adhamiyah neighborhood. Photo by Sgt. Michael Pryor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs.

In a well-lit meeting room in a government building in the Iraqi capital, 20 Iraqi women were sitting in a circle, intently watching the demonstration in the center of the room. They were dressed modestly but with some flair: bright pink and blue headscarves mixed in among the black chadors, chunky, designer purses resting on the floor beneath their seats.

Read more here:mnf-iraq.com

At the moment details are unclear as to why the guards opened fire on the women, but it is almost certain that the guards belonged to a Western security firm. According to a police officer at a nearby checkpoint, three white gray SUV 's and one gray one were part of a convoy that had stopped about 100 yards from the Oldsmobile belonging to the women. One of the guards threw a smoke bomb at the Oldsmobile, apparently in an attempt to get the car to stop. The officer said that it looked like the driver attempted to stop, but before she could two of the guards opened fire, riddling the car with bullets and killing the two women. Then the convoy sped away, leaving the clean-up for Iraqi police.

This is yet another example of what is wrong with the unchecked aggression exhibited by security contractors in Iraq, and it only serves to enrage Iraqis: "These are innocent people killed by people who have no heart or consciousness. The Iraqi people have no value to them," said a man who was part of a group of relatives gathered with a Christian priest at the local police station.

How can you argue with that? It is not hard to sympathize with the man, nor is it hard to see his point. At this moment in time, this act of aggression just seems like murder. It does not seem justifiable in a ny capacity, and since the alleged contractors sped off so quickly, it is unlikely that answers to who did this and why will come anytime soon.

The women were identified as Marou Awanis and Geneva Jalal. Awanis had three daughters who now face the terrible fact of living the rest of their lives without their mother. "May God take revenge on those killers," Anahet Bougous, Awanis's sister in law said, asking who would take care of her children.

Undoubtedly, there will be people who recognize that this incident was tragic, but will still try and defend the mission of contractors in Iraq. They will say that these people are needed and essential. Security supporters will say that the guards over there perform vital work and duties and that America will not stand a chance of winning in Iraq if contractors' roles are reduced. There might even be some people out there who claim that this was not the work of security contractors, but insurgents dressed up as contractors.

There may be some validity to that claim (at least it is worth the proper authorities looking into) but it is too conspiracy theorist for me. In order for insurgents to pull this off they would have had to come across American made armored SUV's somehow, and while that is possible, I find it unlikely that it would have happened without anyone knowing. Besides that, though; it would not really matter if this was the work of insurgents. Sure, the anti-American sentiment-ism aimed at contractors might be a little misplaced in this case if it was true that insurgents were responsible, but it would not change the fact that these companies need oversight. They need to be regulated. Authorities need to know who is in Iraq, and what they are doing there. Until this happens, the Iraqi people will continue to pay the price with civilian casualties, and America will continue to pay in terms of mistrust by the Iraqi people, and it is only a matter of time before that mistrust turns even more hostile.

If you'll recall, the siege of Fallujah in 2004 was sparked by the brutal slaying of four Blackwater security contractors. Those men were killed, beheaded, and hung from bridges as a warning to other contractors. A few days later the US military moved into Falluja and began some of the most intense fighting the war had (and has still) seen.

If the US government does not do something to reign in the cowboy contractors, the insurgency will only have more fuel for its fiery rhetoric. Hopefully they will take this tragedy and implement real, purposeful legislation that will make contractors liable and accountable for their illegal actions.

By: aflack

Um Khalid has an ideal situation for an Iraqi refugee. She’s an engineer working in the private sector who’s married to a Jordanian Sunni. She had a satisfying life living in Amman, Jordan that was quite balanced between caring for her kids and working in their family "water purification device" business. However, as prices got higher in Jordan following “The Kuwait War” and her longing for her homeland got more intense, her family moved to Baghdad. Even during the sanctions, they did well economically since they had their own company. Those who were working for the government at that time had their salaries reduced to a pittance, which of course led to widespread corruption.

Life was reasonably good there until her son, Khalid, a university student who sported a shaved head and a long unkempt beard, was kidnapped. Under Saddam, her son’s beard, which to some indicated sympathy to the Wahabbis (or Salafis) of Saudi Arabia wasn’t a problem because Saddam had an intelligence system that enabled him to know about each and every family in every district. These folks knew that Khalid had no such allegiance nor fanatical intentions. After the fall of Saddam, that intelligence apparatus fell apart, and after several warnings to cut his beard "like a proper Shia” the militia took him off to prison. He remained there for 14 days until his family could locate him and pay the ransom. The night he was released, they moved back to Jordan.

Life for Um Khalid changed. Before, she was friendly with her Jordanian neighbors, enjoying pleasant light conversation over cups of coffee. After this experience, she became passionate about helping less fortunate Iraqi refugee families and the former small talk became unpalatable. Because of her legitimate residency status she’s a lot freer to speak out and stand up for herself when taxi drivers try to drive her “the long way” to her destination or shopkeepers overcharge her once they hear her Iraqi accent.

Um Khalid, a Shia, told me that while she believes Malaki (and his executive branch) to be “worse than useless”, she thinks the parliament is filled with reasonable people who, given the chance and support, can rule Iraq constructively. These are people, she says, who are willing to compromise and that once the Americans leave they will be able to make the concessions necessary to create a functioning government that represents all of the people. Some Sunnis and Christians I talked with think the Parliament is against them.

The sectarian violence going on now does not stem from an age-old religious schism, but rather intentional favoritism towards Sunnis, Palestinians and Christians as well as persecution of the Shia and Kurdish communities under Saddam. The continuing violence since his fall exacerbates this. Now the Shia are taking their comeuppance. Once the violence subsides, if there is justice in the new leadership of the Iraqi government, there is a chance that the population, hungry for peace and security, will join in the rebuilding of their country. The sooner that the violence subsides, the more likely this is to come about.

Again, I’d like to invite those of you who live in Austin, TX to A Gathering Under the Oaks, a backyard event as a benefit for Austin Center for Peace and Justice. I will be the featured guest along with Oliver Rajamani. It will be held at the home of Steve and Rene Morris Larson (2703 Bridle Path, Austin, TX) on June 14^th from 6:30-9:00 pm. The event is a fundraiser for ACPJ with a suggested donation of $25/student $20. For more information, call 799-5117. I will give a short presentation followed by an informal discussion. I hope you can come.

This is the last entry for the section of my blog on Iraqi women refugees. Postings after this one will come as I feel inspired to write.

Thanks for joining me on this journey. Peggy

Rawa is Um Rami’s oldest daughter. Her older brother is 19, she is 16 and her other brothers and sisters are eight and eleven. I met her while at Zahra’s house one day when she and her mother dropped by. While Um Rami and Zahra were working out some plans, Rawa began plying me with questions about English. Her English and my Arabic were at about the same level, so we had a great time trying to understand each other and exchanging vocabulary.

I saw her again a few weeks later when I interviewed her.

In Baghdad, where she lived up to the age of 13, she had a relatively carefree life until the war began. Her family lived in a nice house, she was doing well in school and she had girlfriends to hang out with in her free time. With the war came the bombing which was very frightening for her. Lying in bed at night listening to explosions and wondering if she knew anyone who was being hit wracked her nerves. She and her family moved around to different areas of Baghdad when her father’s store got blown up and he started getting death threats. That’s when she lost contact with most of her girlfriends. Her family finally came to Jordan in 2005, via a scary ride in a taxi to the Jordanian border. They saw some people being pulled over ahead of them so they took off across the desert and circumvented the danger. Being Sabean, a religion that predates Judaism, they likely might only have been robbed….

Rawa’s biggest concern right now is for the well being of her father. He had gotten a phone call about 3 weeks before informing him that his cousin had been killed. He flew into a rage and stormed about for several days before one day taking his passport and leaving. The family hadn’t heard from him since. Rami misses him a lot.

She also misses school. Besides her father’s safe return, she wants to go to school more than anything. Her mother had wanted to be a teacher but her father wouldn’t allow it since it would involve working with men. She has her chance now and is one of the few women I met who makes a special effort to teach her children academic subjects. Rawa has a special drive to learn English, perhaps from seeing Zahra and her work with foreigners.

***********

One of the sad things about Iraqis having the status of “guest” in Jordan rather than refugee status is that the children aren’t allowed to go to school. Jordanian schools are mostly already full, but even schools created by Iraqis for Iraqi children, are not allowed. This doesn’t make sense when you look down the road and realize that these Iraqi kids will likely be in Jordan for a long time and will grow into uneducated adults which will create another kind of social problem. The fear on the part of the Jordanian government is, however, that Iraqi-only schools may become like some of the madrassas in Pakistan, that is, become schools of terrorism or at least sectarian propaganda. Nevertheless, some Iraqi children are able to attend Jordanian schools. From what I could gather, it depends mostly on the headmaster of the school and whether there is any space.

There are also efforts to start some “informal” schools. These would exist under the radar of the Jordanian government and wouldn’t award grades or diplomas, but would give the kids a chance to socialize, have some regularity in their lives and keep their minds active until they can attend a regular school. A priest at one of the Catholic churches has started an art-based school that meets several afternoons a week. It’s open to any children and encourages their parents to participate as well. One of the best things about this school is that by being open to everyone, the Iraqi kids have the opportunity to mix with Jordanians and Palestinians in a supportive, fun atmosphere.

**********

Before I left, I found out that Rawa’s father is alive and well and living with relatives in Southern Iraq. He won't be allowed to return to Jordan and rejoin his family there, however.

One woman recounted her tale , how she was forced to sell her body just so she can have some money in order to feed her starving children. Back home she said, in her former life, she went to school and dressed conservatively.She had a normal life. Now, it's the complete opposite.
The article goes on about a club owner who was even proud to say that these women earned around $50 a night, and that it was very generous of them--kasi kahit na mahina ang kita nila minsan, binibigyan na lang sila ng "flat rate " na sweldo kasi naawa naman daw sila sa mga babaeng iyon. Tulong na lang daw nila sa mga Iraqi women.

I pity these women who are forced to sell their bodies just to survive. Ang hirap noon, I can imagine. Mahirap din yun sa pride ng isang tao. Kung noon eh esteemed ka sa society, ngayon eh kelangan kalimutan mo ang lahat at kumapit sa patalim.

It breaks my heart to hear stories like these. I wish I can do something. I wish I could make the world peaceful so that there would be no wars, no conflicts and everybody in the world would just get along and respect each other's space. If only it was simple as that.

Kaya tayong mga babae sa "free world" , let's be grateful that our country is in a relative state of peace and that we can go on living our lives the way we want to. Let's not take it for granted, at huwag natin sanang hayaan lang basta na mawala ito sa atin. There are so many other people in the world who would love to have what we have.

U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Timothy Swanson, left, commander of 2nd Platoon, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, instructs Marines and sailors attending the Lioness Program in Al Asad, Iraq, on various improvised explosive devices being used to attack Coalition and Iraqi forces, March 27, 2007. The Lioness program also prepares female servicemembers for duties searching female Iraqis. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. James R. Richardson.

By Petty Officer 2nd Class Judith Owen
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 28 Public Affairs

CAMP AL ASAD — Three women from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 28 took the Navy in a new direction in the war on terrorism when, on May 3, they returned to Camp Al Asad, Iraq, as the first Seabees trained in a Marine Corps program called Lioness.

The Lioness program was born when Marine commanders needed a culturally acceptable way to conduct effective searches of Iraqi women at control points along the Iraqi border and other locations. Because men in Muslim countries are not allowed to touch women they are not related to, it was difficult to stop insurgents from using women to smuggle in arms or money. Lioness trains U.S. servicewomen to conduct searches of females, accomplishing the mission while being sensitive to Muslim women.

Read More Here: mnf-iraq.com

 Their engagement lasted so long because her parents wanted her to finish her education first. She taught for 7 years  until taking care of her 4 (at that time) kids got to be too much in addition to her school duties. After she quit, she kept herself busy developing her cooking skills, sewing, and gardening. 

 Life continued like that with her children growing, and marrying until Ali began to get death threats for being a "collaborator". They tried every avenue to get him a visa for the US, but after a number of denials, (Very very few Iraqis, no matter how pro-American they are, no matter how loyally they have worked to help American soldiers, are allowed into the States.) they couldn't wait any longer and so came to Jordan. Currently, they are living in a 5th floor walk-up that has a great view of the city, but is difficult for Jamila to navigate.

*not his real name

**********************

An Iraqi who works for an NGO coordinating agency filled us in on the big picture of the refugees.  He talked in terms of the different waves of refugees as they came over a period from the early ‘90’s until now. Jordan has a history of welcoming refugees from as far back as the first wave of Palestinians in ’48 and then again in ‘67. At this point, Palestinians are estimated to comprise 50% of the population. The exact percentage is a sensitive political issue. They initially continued this generosity toward the Iraqis. At the beginning--after the first Gulf war--Iraqis were welcomed and given visas and work permits. In 2003, a large wave affiliated with Saddam came, and later investors and after that professionals. When the waves of sectarian people came, the host countries, including Syria, felt themselves overloaded, especially since with each wave, the people coming were poorer. The welcome mat was rolled up after the bombings of three international tourist hotels by Iraqi terrorists in 2005. As a result, the new refugees aren’t given anything beyond a 3-month tourist visa and of course no work permits. Jordan officially views them as “guests” rather than refugees, which means that the UNHCR can’t do their thing of providing shelter, education and other things that help people rebuild their lives. Anything that smacks of the aid being institutionalized is forbidden. (Handouts of food and medical care are welcome.)  From the point of view of the refugees themselves, this  lies at the heart of the deepening humanitarian crisis.  With  their dwindling  financial resources, lack of ability to support themselves, a real fear of deportation to face likely (and in some cases certain) death, and few countries being willing to offer them residency and no end to the war in sight, added to rampant PTSD, it is little wonder that they are discouraged and hopeless.  For me, the hardest part of listening to their stories is the hopelessness that I feel for them as well.

In addition to these refugees, there are also 2 million IDPs (internally displaced people) inside Iraq who are receiving neither help nor attention.

*********

Neither Ali nor his mother, however,  are hopeless. They still have an idea that maybe someday they can come to the US. Soldiers he has worked with have written glowing recommendations.  Meanwhile, it has been arranged that a Canadian man will send some money so that Ali can set up a small school to teach Iraqi kids. This would be illegal of course, but perhaps if it's small enough and discrete enough,  it can go undetected.