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