The Life Of A Woman In Iraq

The U.S policy to change the government of Iraq has had a very negative impact on the lives of women in Iraq. Compared to other MidEast states, women in the old regime days in Iraq faced far better times than now, and that compares against a climate with no political freedom, or even the tough life under more than 12 years of U.N. sanctions with not enough food or medicine, while Saddam Hussein's family built palace after palace.

Human rights in the current Iraq have taken a sharp downturn. There is the widespread possibility of becoming a violence victim if one belongs to the wrong political or ethnic group in the wrong neighborhood. There is always the real possibility of torture, even for children for anyone remotely thought to be affilated with opposition to the government or the America occupation.

Each day in the life of a woman in Iraq is a struggle to get enough electricity, water, food or even medicine. Any woman who walks into the streets faces possible death from car bombs or other violence. Many young women are kidnapped and sold as into slavery as prostitutes in other neighboring states. Some will be victims of new discrimination against women caused by a resurgent fundamentalist brand of Islam that allows honor killings and other violence against women. And while 16 million in Iraq count on monthly rations for enough food, since May they have not received these needed food rations. Among the 100,000 possible dead civilians in Iraq since the beginning of the war, lack of clean water without disease, or food or medicine has taken many lives. And the use of American bombs such as depleted uranium, cluster bombs or the MK-77, a form of napalmlike weapon, have taken many more lives when used against entire neighborhoods to rout out a few insurgent fighters in hiding.

The fundamentalist majority in the new Iraqi government evens seeks ways to deny full citizenship to women, and parts of the constitution were hot areas of debate. It's not good to be a woman in modern day Iraq. And there is little movement in a positive direction for the lives of women in Iraq. If America intended any movement towards democracy in Iraq, then more than 50% of persons in Iraq, mainly woman and children have found their lives dramaticly worsened since the start of the American war to replace Saddam Hussein.