{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Death threats and isolation: The heavy cost of fighting sexual violence in Iraq",
  "summary": "Iraqi women's rights activists face grave dangers, including death threats and targeted violence, as they fight against widespread sexual harassment and systemic failures.",
  "content": "Navigating the streets of Iraq as a woman often means confronting pervasive harassment and a lack of institutional protection. Activist Sarah Jassim utilizes her Instagram platform to document and expose men who subject women to verbal abuse and obscene gestures in public places. Describing a mobile phone as a crucial weapon, she records these confrontations to create tangible evidence for victims or to publicly shame the perpetrators. One such recorded incident successfully led to the arrest of a police officer who was accused of harassing schoolgirls. However, this active documentation brings severe personal hazards, forcing Jassim to restrict her movements and spend most of her time indoors with her dog due to continuous threats.\n\nJassim reports receiving numerous death threats and warnings involving acid attacks for allegedly inciting public indecency by encouraging women to speak out in a restrictive society. The current Iraqi penal code lacks explicit provisions criminalizing harassment and gender-based violence, leaving victims with limited legal recourse. A UN committee on discrimination against women highlighted in a May report that gender-based violence in Iraq remains widespread and significantly under-reported. The committee urged authorities to eliminate discriminatory laws that protect rapists who marry their victims and offer lenient sentences for perpetrators of so-called honor killings.\n\nThe pursuit of justice through formal legal channels is fraught with delays and uncertainty, as illustrated by the ordeal of a mother named Amal. For roughly five years, Amal has fought in court against her ex-husband, whom she accuses of repeatedly raping their underage daughter at gunpoint. Recalling the terrifying night, Amal stated that the father placed a weapon on the bed and threatened the girl with fatal consequences if she screamed. Although Amal immediately reported the crime to the police, presenting medical documents and DNA evidence, the accused remains a fugitive from justice. Left completely on her own without family support or financial resources for legal representation, Amal has lost confidence that the courts will deliver a favorable verdict.\n\nThe vulnerability of abuse survivors in Iraq is compounded by a severe shortage of safe shelters. Facilities that did exist were largely established by an organization co-founded by prominent women's rights advocate Yanar Mohammed. Last March, Mohammed was tragically murdered by armed men outside her Baghdad residence, an assassination linked by UN human rights experts to years of online abuse and threats from extremist religious militias. Hanaa Edwar, another veteran activist who met Mohammed shortly before her death, emphasizes that women in Iraq currently face a complete absence of protective laws and justice. Mustafa Saadoon, head of the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, notes that the primary barrier is not female silence, but a system at every level that discourages victims from seeking redress.\n\nOther survivors, such as a woman using the pseudonym Samira, share similar accounts of systemic failure and street harassment. Samira described enduring explicit content displayed on a mobile device by a fellow commuter on public transport, and another instance where a motorist stalked her for over ten minutes. When she approached nearby police officers for assistance, they claimed they lacked the authority to intervene. Fearing domestic restrictions rather than receiving institutional support, Samira keeps these incidents hidden from her family. Interior Ministry spokesman Muqdad Miri acknowledged that harassment involving police personnel does occur but carries severe penalties including dismissal and up to ten years in prison, while noting that approximately 300 sexual violence reports have been logged this year despite cultural barriers keeping many cases hidden.\n\nWhat this means for you\nThis situation highlights critical challenges surrounding women's safety, systemic accountability, and legal protections in conflict-affected regions.\n\n• Across India: While this specific event does not alter daily conditions in India, it resonates with ongoing discussions regarding legal reforms and the societal hurdles faced by survivors of gender-based violence.\n• In Iraq: Iraqi women and abuse survivors face heightened safety risks, institutional apathy, and a severe lack of safe shelters or protective legislation when seeking justice.\n\nWhy this happened\nThe persistence of sexual violence and threats against activists in Iraq stems from entrenched cultural norms, legal loopholes, and extremist pressures.\n\n• Legal Deficits: The Iraqi penal code lacks explicit definitions and criminalization for terms such as harassment and gender-based violence.\n• Societal Stigma: Deeply rooted customs and family pressures force many victims to remain silent rather than report abuses to authorities.\n• Extremist Hostility: Prominent women's rights advocates face severe backlash and death threats from extremist religious elements opposed to social change.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. What action does activist Sarah Jassim take against harassment?\nSarah Jassim posts videos of street harassment on Instagram to document evidence for potential legal action and to publicly shame perpetrators.\n\n2. What did the UN committee report regarding violence in Iraq?\nA UN committee reported in May that violence against women in Iraq is widespread and under-reported, urging the repeal of discriminatory laws.\n\n3. What is the legal battle faced by Amal in Iraq?\nAmal has been fighting in court for about five years accusing her ex-husband of repeatedly raping their underage daughter at gunpoint.\n\n4. Who was Yanar Mohammed?\nYanar Mohammed was a prominent women's rights advocate who helped establish shelters for abused women before she was murdered in Baghdad.\n\n5. How many reports of sexual violence has the Iraqi police received?\nAn Interior Ministry spokesperson stated that police have received about 300 reports of sexual violence since the beginning of the year.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/middle-east/death-threats-and-isolation-the-cost-of-fighting-sexual-violence-in-iraq-47272",
  "category": "Middle East",
  "publishedAt": "2026-10-13",
  "tags": [
    "Iraq",
    "Women Rights",
    "Sexual Violence",
    "Sarah Jassim",
    "Human Rights",
    "Baghdad",
    "Crime"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}