Progress Amid Resistance

170 WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAgranted the right to seek punishment for their exploiters’ abuses. Iraqbecame a country of origin for women and girls trafficked to nearby countriesfor the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation during the Iran-Iraqwar, and the pace of this trade increased amid the sanctions and economicdifficulties of the 1990s. The trafficking often took the form of false marriages,in which perpetrators effectively bought the women from their im -poverished families, while others were lured with promises of legitimatework. Internal and cross-border sex trafficking continued after 2003,and the displacement of millions of people due to sectarian warfare exacerbatedthe situation. 20 Thousands of Iraqi women have been forced towork as prostitutes in countries like Syria, Jordan, and the United ArabEmirates. 21 However, due to the security circumstances in Iraq, it is difficultto accurately gauge the scope of human trafficking, and the governmenthas done little to monitor or address the problem.Although Article 29 of the constitution bars violence in the family,schools, and society, in a contradictory manner, Paragraph 41 of the penalcode allows husbands to punish their wives. Domestic violence is a growingproblem, and it is generally considered a private matter, to be dealtwith through the intervention of relatives or tribal sheikhs. In these cases,even if the decision is in the woman’s favor, reconciliation does not stopmen from repeating their crimes. A woman is punished and resented if shetries to defend herself. Moreover, in the context of Iraq’s ongoing insurgency,women have suffered torture, mutilation, rape, and other forms ofinhuman treatment at the hands of Iraqi and American forces, sectarianmilitias, terrorists, and their own tribes and families. There are no exactstatistics on any of these forms of abuse, as the victims risk further harmif they speak out or seek justice. Depending on the nature of the crime,victims may even face honor killings by their families.The Kurdish authorities have said that they are trying to identify thebest means of educating people about the wrongful nature of violenceagainst women, and that the effort had produced a certain amount ofbacklash. They have helped to open shelters and support NGOs dedicatedto women at risk of violence, honor killing, or rape in the Kurdish region.In addition, they have created special family protection units within thepolice through which women may file complaints and seek protection.Nonetheless, these units are not always effective and often fail to protectwomen. In one recent case, a girl seeking police protection after elopingwith her boyfriend was turned over to her father, after the father allegedly