Thank you.
I will address the issue of women's security in Iraq under the current conflict circumstances, which have divided the country into three zones based on religious and sectarian identity, in addition to a previously decided ethnic division. Violence against women in these zones differs in its source and intensity, but has persisted in taking place throughout the recent decade.
The first zone is the ISIS-controlled zone of Mosul, Tal Afar, Hawija, and many other cities, where the Islamic government imposes a situation close to the dark ages in which women are treated as demonized subhumans whose appearance is not desired in public and in which enslavement and sexual violence is a common and regulated practice against many groups: first, against more than 2,500 women of the Yazidi faith—I'm guessing that you have heard some of their testimonies lately—second, wives of men who serve in the Iraqi military, among whom the number who are being enslaved is growing into the thousands; and third, women with no males in the family.
The second zone is the transitional zone between ISIS-controlled zones and Iraqi government zones. The transitional zone includes the areas bordering ISIS zones, where different kinds of violence are imposed against women.
First, there are the crossover routes, such as the Hamrin mountain route, which women and their children cross on foot for the whole night in order to escape ISIS threats of enslavement, from Hawija city and surrounding villages. In this current week, according to our local activists, more than 60 families of mostly mothers and their children escaped on foot to the destination of Rubaidha village on the Iraqi side. ISIS snipers and fighters managed to kill and enslave 20 families, executing the men and some children while enslaving most of the women.
Another crossover route from the ISIS zone is the Bou Hamdan checkpoint through to Kirkuk, where Kurdish security does not allow the Arab women and children access to safety. Families are returned daily to face the same destiny of execution and sexual enslavement under ISIS and in what is called ISIS's “entertainment houses” in their controlled zone.
These routes have witnessed massacres of a fleeing population who are willing to risk their lives in order to escape ISIS oppression and sexual exploitation.
The cities and towns regained from ISIS—and this is also a transitional zone—such as Ramadi city and parts of Anbar have witnessed the enslavement and rape of hundreds of women, who are left pregnant or with a baby. When the tribes of the compromised women return to the city and after the Iraqi army regains the city, the immediate goal of the tribes is to cleanse their honour by killing the violated women. The honour killing practice is still a legal practice in Iraq in spite of 13 years of presumed liberation.
The Iraqi government celebrates the military victories of the army and the tribes, thus letting them have their way in executing their women, whom they fail to protect. Women in this transitional zone are subject to double-fold violence, first from ISIS and then from their own tribe, while the government does not intervene to protect them and to consider them victimized by the enemy.
The third zone is Iraq proper, which is the capital Baghdad, the cities of the south, and small parts of western Iraq, such as the city of Samarra. After the fall of most of the city to the hands of ISIS in June 2014, the Iraqi government mobilized and recruited more than 40 Shia Islamic militias, which are financially supported by public money, in order to overcome ISIS, with a popular front called al-Hashd al-Shaabi, but in reality they are extremist, religious sectarian armed groups.
In a highly militarized scene in which youth are fully armed and carry governmental IDs, Iraqi streets became dangerous places for women and for minorities. It is noteworthy to mention the following.
Honour killings continue to have the legal cover of laws and legal practices, and this is after 13 years of the so-called liberation of Iraq. Forensic institute storages continue to be filled with unclaimed women's bodies, and the legal committee in the Parliament does not address the issue.
Second, trafficking of women in broad daylight—and this is in Iraq proper, not under ISIS—is increasing every year due to extreme poverty, tribal cruelty, and a thriving trafficking network. An anti-trafficking law, number 28, was passed but is not enacted yet. To our knowledge, no traffickers have been detained to date.
The third issue is protection of women in shelters. It is a task of which the government does not approve. Although they have set up formal shelter buildings as a response to international community requests, there is not a single resident in these so-called shelters; moreover, officials from extremist and patriarchal parties threaten all endeavours to shelter women as a socially destructive practice that promotes “immorality”.
The last one is blocking women's rights to citizenship. The extremist government in Iraq refuses to provide females with their citizenship identification papers unless they are accompanied by a male relative. Although there is no legal article pertaining to this effect, it has become a common practice among all the relevant governmental establishments.
As well, there is censorship of feminist voices. When women raise their resisting voices over the radio stations, such as our initiative of Al-Mousawat radio, which means “equality”, the governmental establishment of the commission of media and communications or CMC issues an order for the closing of our radio under the pretext of registration requirements.
Over 13 years our Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq sheltered more than 450 women from honour killing, trafficking, and sexual enslavement. We currently have six locations for sheltering: three in Baghdad, one in Dohuk, one in Samarra, in addition to one for threatened LGBT individuals.
In September 2013 we launched a network for anti-trafficking of Iraqi women, which has attracted more than 40 organizations from the civil society, including women, youth, and human rights organizations.
We believe that it is possible to address our culture and society at large towards better treatment and respect for women; nevertheless, the current extremist Islamic government in Iraq is the main obstacle at this point. We therefore believe that our previous efforts on drafting and passing the Iraqi national action plan can be a potential way of addressing issues of women and security in the future, but not at this moment in history, when the government is not co-operating for the well-being of women.
We need the Canadian government to acknowledge the value of civil society and its potential role in advancing the striving of Iraqi women towards safety and equality.
We also need the meaningful support of the UN Security Council in addressing the Iraqi government on its duty in the following areas.
The first is for the ministry of labour and social affairs to issue a formal statement clarifying the shelter policy and to allow Iraqi NGOs to operate shelters for women and other vulnerable individuals fleeing violence.
The second is to increase support to Iraqi organizations meeting the immediate needs of women and other vulnerable individuals fleeing conflict-related violence, including safe shelter, psychosocial support, medical care, and vocational training.
The third is to ensure funding for and implementation of the Iraqi national action plan for the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security and to establish and maintain a system for monitoring the implementation of the NAP or national action plan.
The fourth is to expand current documentation efforts on sexual slavery to include other crimes committed against women, including crimes against women as human rights defenders and based on gender.
The UN agencies in Iraq did not play an adequate role in addressing the issues of women; neither did the governmental facade “ministry of women”, whose role bordered on oppression of women's dress code and freedom of movement, which is understandable for a woman whose allegiance is to her extremist party.
It is time that civil society takes a bigger role and addresses the issues of women's security in a bottom-up direction.
We believe that the women of Iraq can play a better role in shaping the future with the support of the international community and particularly of the Canadian government.
We hope you will find these recommendations informative for your work. In bringing these concerns to your attention, we are lending our support to and pledging our future assistance with efforts that the international community may undertake to remedy the plight of women and girls affected by the conflict in Iraq. To this end, we respectfully request that you consider prioritizing these recommendations in your efforts.
Thank you.