IRAQ: Activists call on army, police to respect women’s rights

BAGHDAD, 8 February 2006 (IRIN) - NGOs are calling for the protection of women during military raids, accusing both the Iraqi army and police of humiliating female suspects and detainees. Since July 2005, the Women’s Rights Association (WRA) of Iraq has registered more than 240 cases of women. They say they have have suffered “humiliation” at the hands of the army and police during raids on their homes, according to Mayada Zuhair, a member of the association. The WRA has also registered nearly 90 reports of mistreatment of former female detainees. WRA spokeswoman Sarah Muthulak noted that most cases involved sexual harassment or violence, including beatings. “Urgent attention should be given to this issue,” Muthulak said. The Iraqi Army is responsible for conducting arrests of alleged insurgents, often with the support of local police. “I shouted at police when they came,” recalled Rasha Obeid, a 25-year-old woman accused of supporting the insurgency. “I said I wouldn’t accept arrest or anyone touching me... When I reached the prison, though, army officials started to touch my body and say bad words.” Women whose male family members are wanted for involvement in insurgency are often reportedly arrested in their place. “The Iraqi Army raided my house searching for my husband, who was accused of being an insurgent,” said Samira Kubaissy, a resident of Baghdad’s Hay Jamia’a district, adding that she was beaten by army troops until she lost consciousness. “Because he was out at the time, they took me instead.” “For five days I was humiliated by officers,” Kubaissy added. “Women should be respected during raids, not treated as insurgents,” noted Muthulak. “Taking a woman instead of her husband is a crime, and the humiliation very serious.” In most Muslim countries, women are usually searched or interrogated by other women, given the generally conservative nature of Islamic society. However, male police officers are allowed to arrest women in such cases in Iraq if female officers are unavailable. According to Maj. Huda al-Kham, women serving in the army are kept far from raids or combat missions. “We never participate in any arrests or raids,” she said. Al-Kham went on to note that there were approximately 220 women in the Iraqi Army today, all of whom were trained in Jordan. As for the numbers of women being held for alleged insurgent activities since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, no official figures are available. The Ministry of Interior, meanwhile, continues to deny accusations of official mistreatment, saying that the army and police have been well trained to deal with women. “We’re going to evaluate such accusations, but I guarantee …that our officers would not carry out such behaviour,” said Hassan Jaffar, a senior ministry official. He added that many of the women were “imagining” the alleged abuses. “Many NGOs working with women’s issues are just extrapolating numbers and accusing the government,” Jaffar said. “Women’s organisations have the right to defend themselves, but they must also accept that there are women working with the insurgency.”