Iraqi women face rape or murder for eschewing strict Islamic regulations

Militia groups are killing women in southern Iraq for not conforming to strict Islamic tenets, Basra police say. In addition, many women have been driven from their homes because of escalating threats, Inter Press Service reported today.

“Basra police chief Gen. Jalil Hannoon has told reporters and Arab TV channels that at least 40 women have been killed during the past five months in the southern city,” the article said, later adding, “The militias dominated by the Shia Badr Organisation and the Mehdi Army are leading imposition of strict Islamic rules. The enforcement of these ways comes at a time when British troops have left Basra, the biggest town in the south, to the Iraqi government.”

According to the article: “Women who do not wear the hijab are becoming prime targets of militias, residents say. Many women say they are threatened with death if they do not obey.”

“Militiamen approached us to tell us we must wear the hijab and stop wearing make-up,” college student Zahra Alwan who fled Basra for Baghdad recently told IPS. “They are imitating the Iranian Revolution Guards, and we believe they receive orders from the Islamic Republic (of Iran) to do so.”

The article adds: “Several women victims were accused of being ‘bad’ before they were abducted, residents say. Most abducted women are later found dead. The bodies of several were found in garbage dumps, showing signs of rape and torture. Several bodies had a note attached saying the woman was ‘bad,’ according to several residents who did not give their name.”

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