Iraqi women suppressed as militia groups continue to hold sway

Iraqi women have become increasingly silenced as militia groups attempt to force them to conform to strict Islamic teachings, Inter Press Service reported Tuesday.

Militias organized by the Mahdi Army and the Shia Badr Organization dominate the country. The article reports that “in December at least 40 women had been killed during the previous five months in [Basra] city alone” for not complying with Islamic ways. Residents in Basra reported that “women who do not wear the hijab,” the traditional head and body covering, “are becoming prime targets of militias. Many women say they are threatened with death if they do not obey.”

Life-threatening situations in other Iraqi cities have prevented women from attending schools for fear of abduction. According to the article: “In early 2007 Iraq’s Ministry of Education found that more than 70 percent of girls and young women no longer attend school or college.” Women have also taken lesser positions in the workforce for fear that holding too much power will create unwanted attention from the militias.

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