Misogynist political parties are exploiting women’s suffering for political purposes

Iraqi society was shocked with an unprecedented issue of a woman stepping forward, voluntarily, and explaining that she was sexually assaulted by Iraqi security forces. Instead of pursuing an investigation into this assault allegation, or empowering the victim with moral support, opposing Islamist-sectarian factions competed to exploit the matter politically, preparing the ground for bloody sectarian conflict. They symbolized Sabrine’s rape as an assault against the whole “Sunni religious group".

Meanwhile, the heads of Shia Islamist political parties – who are the top officials in the American-approved government – immediately scorned and disbelieved the victim, instead rewarding the accused rapists. Moreover, Iraqi government heads indulged in raising moral suspicions about the victim’s reputation.

This entire matter has revealed a misogynist tendency in Iraq as most spokesmen started to scorn and discredit the victim, wishing that no woman should ever dare to speak out the details of her sexual humiliation. Worse yet, a few of these male-chauvinist reporters declared that they preferred that she end her life or live a lifetime of pain and misery without even thinking of punishment for her rapists.

Another brutal rape of a similar kind was repeated again in the northern city of Tal Aafar, where Wajida Muhamad Amin was gang-raped by security forces. In this instance, it was not possible to deny or discredit the victim. There were witnesses!

Raping Iraqi women by the police force is not an unbelievable or a new matter. Our non-sectarian, non-religious organization, the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) has documented six confirmed cases where Iraqi police raped women – inside and outside detainment centers. The youngest of these raped females is 14 year old. OWFI activists have raised reports of these cases to the officials in the Ministry of Interior (who are responsible for security and criminal law enforcement) and the presidency of ministries. To this date, these men who have been given power, privilege, weapons, and uniforms by the Americans, have given us no answer.

Is This Part of Bush's Freedom Agenda?

The central matter at this point is not whether these assaults happened or not, nor Sabrine’s credibility. Rapes take place daily, under the chaotic situations resulting from the occupation. The occupation authorities handed over the power to unscrupulous men who have no respect for women’s rights and dignity. On the contrary, the appointed puppets have promoted sectarian hatred, and encouraged tribal barbarism where women of other clans are “sexual hostages” to be exploited, while the women of their own clan are “valuables to be protected”. In either case, these forces will always regard women as property of the clan and a tool of political vengeance, but never as individuals, worthy of respect.

Who protects Iraqi women in these barbaric situations? And who will guarantee their dignity, their privacy, and right to a decent future? Women of Iraq can not live secure under the occupation and the government of ethnic and sectarian division which has no respect for human rights or women’s rights. The only hope lies in the people of Iraq to strive to create a political alternative which liberates us all from the repression of the religious, sectarian, and ethnic parties. Our alternative vision for freedom and equality is the only path to guarantee an end to gender inequality and all kinds of social discrimination in Iraq.

Ms. Mohammed has lived in the U.S. and Canada. She was the keynote speaker at the Women and War Conference held at South Texas College, McAllen, Texas in 2006. She will return to the states in April 2007 to discuss human trafficking and the sex trade in Iraq … a phenomenon that has occurred since the U.S. invasion and occupation.

This commentary was originally published in VirtualCitizen.com