Gender-Based Violence and Discrimination in Iraq

Iraqi women and girls face extraordinarily high levels of cultural and institutional violence and discrimination. Women who are perceived to have dishonored their families – for allegedly or actually committing adultery, refusing an arranged marriage, or asking for a divorce, among other reasons – may be threatened with honor killing. Iraq's legal system institutionalizes gender-based violence and discrimination through criminal laws that condone male violence while punishing women who transgress cultural norms, and through laws that are either discriminatory or are harmful to women in their implementation. Throughout Iraq, there are no programs to deliver legal services with a gender-focused approach, and women in the family court system do not have access to lawyers who will advocate for them by presenting facts and legal theories that account for their experiences as victims of gender-based violence. Female detainees suffer abuse in Iraqi detention centers, including rape, violence and verbal abuse, as well as unmet basic needs such as medical care, clothing and sometimes food. Criminal arrest and detention places victims at risk of further abuse or being killed by their families upon release for dishonoring the family, and detention centers sometimes end up serving as protective shelters to prevent families from killing women and girls at risk of honor killing. While in detention, conditions are not monitored, just as there is no regular trial observation and monitoring of implementation of discriminatory laws and legal procedures toward women in either the criminal justice or family court system. On a broader level, ethnic and sectarian conflict marginalizes women and further limits their capacity to function in public roles, as economic actors, decision makers and professionals. Although women often function as mediators in social networks, their participation in formal peace-building efforts is usually minimized or non-existent.
Summary
Heartland Alliance