Professor Munther Al Fadhal, PhD of law
Member of Council of International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES), Slovenia
Women occupied a distinguished social, economical, political and religious position in different ages and played an active role in life affairs. The significance and types of this role and this position diverse in different ages. Woman used to be in a position of a goddess during the initial stages of history. Human beings used to worship her and requested kindness and salvation from her and her existence formed a symbol of blessing, reproduction and fertility. Moreover, for this purpose, there has been a strong relation between woman and creation. In fact, woman’s existence associates with a fertile, productive land which nourishes mankind from her blessings.
Numerous texts were found in Hamurabi legislation to organize a family, to protect the position and role of Babylonian woman in ancient Iraq. Woman used to have a privilege to divorce from her husband, and had a privilege to take care of her children to practice a business and had a legislative facility and independent financial possession from her husband and had a privilege in guardianship and living. Severe scandals were put on a person who maltreated a woman or violated her constant rights according to the mentioned law.
Women occupied a distinguished role and a high position during Greek period and republic of Plato as well. Whereas such a position was not the same among Arabs before Islam. There was the burial of girls who were alive at that time because of the fear of their capture as prisoners of war during attacks and wars. This practice was a very significant social value at that time so as a woman did not become a slave for taking as a concubine during attacks. The social and economical position depends on the role of man in agriculture and wars up to the appearance of Islam which eliminates prevalent social problems at that time. However, women’s position in social and economical rights did not improve at the level to be suitable to her humanist value and her humane role in family and society. The important thing here is to introduce the legal protection of women during the modern age and the discrimination of this protection between both sexes and conditions of violation of women rights in Iraq in order to clarify the essential recommendations to improve women’s condition in Iraqi society in Iraq after Saddam regime and to stop violations against her constant humane privileges and try those who commit these crimes according to the law as principles of justice which require the trial of criminals about their crimes according to the international law and according to the national law as numerous international conferences were held to investigate the issue of women rights and the attempt to limit these violations and among those was Pekin Conference in 1995 and among other conferences by the United Nations.
VIOLATION OF WOMEN RIGHTS IN THE IRAQI ACT OF PUNISHMENTS NUMBER 111, 1969
There are numerous of legal texts in the Iraqi Act of Punishments which reveal serious violations of women rights and tens of the issued decisions from the President of the regime which violate legislation and international obligations. The most serious violations are:
The punishment of execution for women in the Act of Punishments and out of the court and justice where execution against women is acted according to Iraqi punishment law which we requested to be cancelled from law. Operations of execution was practiced dangerously without trial and authorized by persons who were called (Fidaee Saddam) which means sacrificers for Saddam to cut the head and body savagely by sword which is a serious crime against human rights, should not keep it silent and those who committed it should be brought to trial and victims should be compensated according to law. Such barbarous actions should not be acted whatever excuses are. In addition, there had been murder, rape, and continuous torture against women in the prisons of the regime which needs investigation teams to be sent for investigating the reality of human rights in Iraq and handling the criminals who acted such crimes to the national and international court of justice.
The crime of adultery, honour murder and inequality of legal protection between man and woman; The crime of honour murder is considered a serious crime which threatens human rights and first women rights in civil society, for which it requires all the essential steps to redeem this serious problem in Iraq and other Arab or Islamic countries. The Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter in Swedish language on 22nd January 2002 published a part of this problem through the available statistics about this crime which refers to honour killing as follows:
about 25 to 40 crimes of murder urged by honour murder happen in Jordan annually,
about 400 crimes of murder occur to women in Yemen for honour murder annually,
about 60 crimes of murder occur to women in Iran for the same reason,
about 300 - 500 crimes of murder happen to women in Pakistan for the same reason annually,
about 50 crimes of murder occur to women in Egypt for the reason of honour murder annually.
There is not accurate statistics about the condition in Iraq and this crime spread even in diaspora and even numerous crimes happened in Sweden and other countries for family honour murder which increases this crime.
The Punishment law in Iraq dismantles the inequality in legal protection between man and woman in this crime. The Punishment law backs man and put very severe punishments on women without punishing the person who commits it.
Torturing women and treating them badly during imprisonment period before their trial
Based on plenty of documents which were found during the victorious uprising in 1991, that there had been a serious policy acted by Saddam’s regime against women in Kurdistan and various areas in Iraq, particularly in secret prisons, during trial and custody. It was obvious in the regime’s prisons in Suleimanya and prisons of Duhok and other areas. A lot of women were exposed to rape, beating, maltreatment, and hanging them on their breasts by iron instruments fixed on the ceiling of the prisons.
Examples of violations of women rights in Iraq
In August 2001, Amnesty international announced a report. The Middle East Affairs Department (Document number MDE 14-008-2001) on the title (Iraq - The organized torture for political prisoners). The condition of women rights in Iraq was mentioned there under the title (Women exposed to torture operations, maltreatment, and execution out of justice as follows:
Women in areas under the control of central government were exposed to torture, maltreatment and executions out of justice in Iraq, for instance Dr. Suad Jihad Shamsadin 61 years was exposed to imprisonment and severe torture at her clinic in Baghdad on 29th June 1999 for suspicion of having liaisons with Iraqi opposition. Moreover, many women were exposed to rape and sexual abuse to pressurize the active relatives who were against the regime of Saddam. And the colonel N.S. received a video cassette on 7th of June 2000 which confirms this crime (p8 from the mentioned report).
In addition, tens of heads of women who were accused of prostitution were cut in October 2000 without any trials (p8). The heads of men who were accused of being pimps were cut. And these operations were performed by the attendance of Baath Party representatives and General Union of Iraqi Women. The militia militants of Saddam’s Sacrificers had cut heads by swords in front of the houses in a grotesque way and murdered a lot of victims for political reasons (p8).
And Dr. Najat Muhammad Heider was slaughtered in October 2000 on the excuse of prostitution but the real reason was that she criticized the corruption in health sectors and Institutions. Moreover, the head of other Iraqi women named (Um Haider) was cut without any accusation or trial in 2000, she was married and had three children because of her husband’s active political role against the regime and who could manage to flee his homeland. The parts of the body were taken in plastic bags to unknown place but the fate of children remained unknown (p9 from Amnesty International report).
