Death Threats and Isolation: The Price of Fighting Sexual Violence in Iraq

Women in Iraq who refuse to stay silent about sexual harassment and violence sometimes face murder threats, acid attacks, and indifference from the judiciary; a society that blames the victim, and laws that still provide insufficient protection for women.

According to Ambassador Arjan, Sara Jassim, a women's rights activist in Iraq, is trying to be the voice of women who complain about sexual violence by publishing videos of street harassment on social networks. He believes that the mobile phone camera can become a tool for recording evidence and judicial follow-up.

Jasem says: Your camera is your weapon. According to him, one of the videos he published led to the arrest of a man accused of harassing female students.

However, the activity in this field has cost him a lot. Jassem says that he has been threatened with death many times and even threatened to attack with acid. He has also been accused of fueling public indecency by encouraging women to talk about sexual harassment.

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This women's rights activist now rarely leaves the house to maintain her safety. She calls for stricter laws that explicitly criminalize sexual harassment and gender-based violence; Concepts that according to him, do not have a clear place in the penal code of Iraq.

Iraqi women's narratives show that complaining about sexual violence, especially when the perpetrator is a family member, can be a long and exhausting journey. The complexity of the judicial process, the cost of lawyers, social stigma and the fear of the families' reactions discourage many victims from pursuing legal action.

One of these women, whose nickname is Amal, has been involved in a case against her ex-husband for about five years. She claims that the man who was her daughter's father raped her several times at gunpoint when she was under 18 years old.

Amal says that her daughter has spoken about her father's threats to kill her and the violence she suffered during the assault. He also showed the BBC reporter medical documents and DNA evidence that he said supported his story.

However, the case is still open and Amal says her ex-wife is on the run. As he could not afford a lawyer and did not have the support of his family, he says that he no longer has much hope for a fair verdict.

A report by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, released in May, described violence against women and girls in Iraq as widespread but underreported. This committee called for the cancellation of laws that provide exemption from punishment in situations where the rapist is married to the victim, or consider discounts for so-called honor killings.

Active killing of women's rights and lack of shelter

The problem is not only limited to the weakness of judicial follow-up. Many women fleeing domestic violence do not have an independent income or a safe place to live. Iraq also faces a serious lack of shelters for traumatized women.

Yanar Mohammad, a well-known women's rights activist who was involved in the establishment of some women's shelters, was killed by gunmen in front of his house in Baghdad last March. The perpetrators of this murder have not yet been identified.

UN Human Rights Council experts announced in April that Muhammad has been facing death threats and internet harassment for years; Threats believed to have been made by religious extremist militia groups.

Hana Edwar, another prominent women's rights activist in Iraq, says she saw Muhammad only two days before he was killed. Edvar also reported receiving threats and described the situation of women's rights in his country as worrying.

When the police is not a safe haven

Samira, the pseudonym of another woman who spoke to the BBC, said she was repeatedly harassed on public transport and on the street. He even had the experience of being chased by a car; But according to him, the police officers who approached them declared that they do not have the authority to intervene.

The spokesperson of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, Moqdad Miri, says that there are cases of sexual harassment by police officers, but they are few and the punishment can be up to 10 years in prison and dismissal from service. He also admitted that many cases of sexual violence are never reported due to social customs and traditions.

Mustafa Saadoun, head of Iraq Human Rights Watch, considers the main problem not women's silence, but the inability of existing structures to hear their voices. According to him, women have to go through family, police and judicial obstacles to file a complaint; Obstacles at any stage may force them to remain silent.

Referring to the 23 years since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Hana Edwar says that the situation of women's rights in Iraq has turned backward instead of progressing. However, Sarah Jassim still insists on continuing the struggle: if we are all afraid, nothing will change.