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• 1 media/Iraqi women protesters.jpg media/Iraqi women protesters.jpg 2020-07-01T09:56:08-07:00 Iraqi Women 18 This contains the the experiences of women from Iraq. plain 2020-07-29T05:45:16-07:00

  Women in Iraq. 

  Women were treated better during the dictatorship. Within the Arab world, they were seen as the women with the most rights. They could go to school, have a job, and travel in relative safety. After the U.S invasion in 2003, this all changed. People were happy with the new freedoms that surfaced under democracy, but felt oppressed by the violence and worsening conditions for women. 
  
  Hear from women living in Iraq:
  
  
  I spoke with an Iraqi woman living in Central Ohio who experienced this shift. She told me how being a Christian woman made her a target for Islamic Extremist groups. These groups stole from, raped, and killed other Christian families in her area. This is ultimately what made her flee with her family.
  
  In their 2008 report on Iraq, Women for Women International confirmed how bad things have gotten: 

  The impact of violence and insecurity can be seen in everything from statistics to anecdotes. In the worst parts of Iraq, the average Iraqi must worry about car bombs, random shootings, snipers; ethnic cleansing, kidnapping, torture, and execution by militant groups, as well as the potential for collateral damage from American or Iraqi security forces operations. 

  Piling onto the threat of violence is the non-violent disruption of everyday life, for instance: 
  • Food prices skyrocketed as a result of farmers lacking the necessary resources to plant and harvest. According to Women for Women International, the bread prices quintupled and tomato prices quadrupled. 
  • It is impossible to find a steady and safe job. This causes household incomes to plummet. 
  • School is a labyrinth of issues. Girls are threatened if they attend, no jobs are available to graduates, families can no longer afford fees, single mothers are not permitted to register their children, and the level of safety is dubious. 
  Women for Women International conducted surveys throughout Iraq to learn more about the living conditions of women in the country. What they found was a widespread decline in living conditions.