Women's shelter to open in protected Baghdad location

US officials plan to open a new shelter for women who are victims of domestic and other forms of violence - the first of its kind in the capital, Baghdad. In Iraq, violence against women is still a taboo subject and if a woman complains about it, her family and husband's family sit down together to try to work out the issue. In such an atmosphere, US Major Martha Boy, a civil affairs officer with the 350th Civil Affairs Unit plans to open a women's shelter in two weeks in the "green zone", now a protected area for US administrators in Iraq where former President Saddam Hussein and his elite Republican Guard used to live. The centre's exact location in the two-kilometre-wide area will be kept secret to protect the women, Boyd said. "It's a new concept in Iraq, but it's not revolutionary. I think Iraqis and Coalition forces agree on that," Boyd told IRIN. "I know it's risky, but I believe you have to make change. We're trying to meet a need for women who are abused and need a place to go." The new centre is meant as a temporary stop for the women until a more permanent solution can be found, Boyd said. Teenagers who are abused may be sent to one of the city's orphanages until they can finish school, for example, she said. Iraqi orphanages which take care of children who have been abandoned by their parents are generally well-funded and well-staffed, she added. Older women may be counselled and be encouraged to find a job. Already, workers are getting calls every few days about women who have been subjected to physical or sexual abuse who are looking for a way out, said a male staff member trained to work at the shelter but declined to be named. "We will try and make them comfortable at the shelter," the worker said. "If she has suffered sexual abuse or something like that, in our culture the husband would threaten her (if she tried to get help). She would have to stay with her friends," he explained. In Iraq and other Muslim countries, some women are killed by family members if they do something perceived to hurt the family's honour, including being raped. This is referred to as an honour killing. Although there are no recent statistics for violence against women, NGOs in northern Iraq have collected documents showing more than 5,000 honour killings in a 12-year period, according to Layla Mohammed, a spokeswoman for the Organisation for Women's Freedom in Iraq. The women's group has also opened its own safe house at an undisclosed location in the north, which currently has three residents and some children, Mohammed said. In such a strict environment, Boyd said she has faced some opposition to the centre. "I know there is a small group of people who are violently opposed to it," she said. "But most Iraqi people and coalition forces support it." The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which must give approval for such a shelter to operate, agreed to support it to the tune of up to $150,000 for a year, Boyd said. The centre will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with male and female staff who will be able to work with 15-20 women at a time. Boyd is currently looking for a director for the centre. But in the future, she hoped to hand it over to a humanitarian agency or find an additional funding source. No matter who runs the safehouse, it should definitely continue to have Iraqi support, she said. "I don't have any model in mind, but I'm learning quickly about how women's shelters work," Boyd said. "This has got to be an Iraqi initiative, not someone from outside telling them what to do." A similar women's centre is already open in Kirkuk. And another women's group is trying to open a longer-term women's centre in Baghdad, Boyd said. Because of the poor security situation, however, that group's plans are on hold.