Progress Amid Resistance

172 WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAHowever, security problems have forced many NGOs to close down. InBasra, 9 of 12 volunteer organizations helping women have closed downsince the U.S.-led invasion. 27 Death threats against NGOs that work onbehalf of women have spread through the country. In Baghdad, femaleNGO workers have had to go undercover and chain their office doors.Women’s organizations also face bureaucratic hurdles. Those seekingto establish shelters for female victims of domestic violence, rape,and other abuse must obtain approval from four ministries and from thepolice. Among the NGOs that have continued to work on these issues areASUDA Organization for Combating Violence against Women, the AmalAssociation, OWFI, the German charity WADI, and the Iraq Foundation,led by Rend al-Rahim, a former Iraqi ambassador to the United States.Currently, five women’s shelters operate in Iraqi Kurdistan, including onerun by ASUDA. Few shelters, if any, operate in Baghdad or Basra.RecommendationsF The government should reverse the 2004 change in passport rules andgrant adult women the unrestricted right to obtain and use passportsautonomously.F The parliament should update the penal code to eliminate leniency forrape and sexual assault defendants who agree to marry their victims.F The parliament should ban the practice of mut’ah marriage, imposingfines for violations and harsher penalties if coercion or fraud isin volved. Indigent women involved in such arrangements should betreated as victims by the law, and should be referred to social welfareagencies for financial and other assistance. Women who become pregnantthrough mut’ah marriages should be entitled to child support.F The government should provide extensive training programs for allsecurity personnel on the international human rights standards. Thepolice should also receive clear guidelines on how to deal with the in -stances of gender-based violence in an effective and sensitive manner.F The government should remove unnecessary bureaucratic barriers tothe establishment of shelters for abused women, and actively encouragethe formation of such facilities in cooperation with local andinternational NGOs.F The Iraqi government should investigate the commercial sexual exploitationof women and children within the country, and carefully distinguishbetween victims and perpetrators in their handling of these cases.