UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...

kidnapping and killing of women is on the rise. 654 For example, the bodies of four abducted
women were found in a garbage dump on 18 September 2006 in Mosul. Apparently, the
victims had been raped, killed and their faces mutilated. 655
Party militias, insurgents, Islamic extremists as well as family members may be
perpetrators of violent acts against women. Within the context of a male-dominated Iraqi
society, women continue to represent a “softer” target than do men. Instances of attacks
against women are thus high. Due to ongoing insecurity, many are unable to leave their
homes without a male family member to accompany them and even then often with their
own or their families’ reluctance. Women have reportedly also been targeted as a means to
punish or pressure other members of the family, both by armed groups/militias as well as
the ISF. For example, the wife of a police officer in Mosul was shot dead after the attackers
failed to find her husband on 28 September 2006. 656 In another case, a police officer
reportedly tried to force a woman into a sexual relationship in exchange for the release of
her husband and son. 657
UNAMI HRO also reported an increase in “honour killings” 658 due to the general state of
lawlessness and impunity in Iraq. 659 “Honour killing” is a term used to describe a murder
committed by a family member to protect the family’s honour. Many women and girls are
at risk of death if they are accused of behaviour believed to have brought shame on the
family, such as loss of virginity (even by rape), infidelity, a demand for divorce or a refusal
of marriage. Women can be killed based solely on suspicions or rumours without the
opportunity to defend themselves.
In a society where a family’s reputation is measured by the chastity of its female members,
stories of abduction and rape create a great sense of fear in the minds of Iraqi women. Not
only is there a threat of being sexually assaulted, women also fear the aftermath of such
assaults. In fact, women who survive sexual assaults are likely to be subjected to additional
acts of violence from their own family members, particularly from their male relatives who
perceive them as having brought shame on the family. Accordingly, women who are
victims of sexual violence are reluctant to contact the police because they fear being killed
by relatives who may act to restore the “family honour.” At times, the mere possibility that
a woman has been sexually assaulted after she was abducted or detained may be sufficient
to bring shame to the family. With rumours of the (sexual) abuse of abducted women
running high, female detainees may be subject to violence at the hands of their families
654 Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily, Iraq: Abduction of Women on the Rise, IPS, 11 December 2006,
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35801; UNAMI HRO, December 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 12, see
above footnote 10; IRIN, Iraq: Local NGO warns of rising cases of sexual abuse, 14 June 2006,
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=27013.
655 UNAMI HRO, October 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 12, see above footnote 66.
656 Ibid.
657 Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily, Iraq: Abduction of Women on the Rise, IPS, 11 December 2006,
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35801. See also: UNAMI HRO, April 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 9,
see above footnote 74.
658 For more information on “honour killings”, see: UNHCR, 2005 Country of Origin Information Iraq, p. 33
and 36-38, see above footnote 53.
659 UNAMI HRO, October 2006 Human Rights Report, p. 3, see above footnote 66; ibidem, August 2006
Human Rights Report, p. 10, see above footnote 26.
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