Progress Amid Resistance

184 WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAF The Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government must liftall restrictions on free expression and the media. Journalists and othermedia workers must be given wide latitude to do their jobs in accordancewith their constitutional rights.F The government should create standing task forces—including police,prosecutors, and representatives of other security agencies—to investigateand punish crimes against journalists and civil society activists.SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTSThe dire security situation that prevailed in the years after the U.S.-ledin vasion severely hampered women’s full and equal access to health care.Civilians attempting to travel to hospitals—particularly in Baghdad—had to avoid false checkpoints erected by insurgents and sectarian deathsquads, who targeted individuals based on their apparent ethnic or religiousaffiliations. Several sick and pregnant women were killed by U.S.soldiers looking to ward off insurgent attacks, or by the attacks andbombings themselves. Because of these hazards, women are often forcedto wait until they face a real health emergency before seeking professionalcare, and summoning an ambulance has become nearly impossiblein some areas, as the vehicles risk being ambushed by insurgents or militias.Even if patients are able to reach a hospital, they could encounterarmed groups in side, and medical staff are often swamped by the victimsof bombings and shootings. Many women choose to give birth at homedespite the lack of sanitation and medical expertise, leading to reports ofdeath in childbirth.Women are legally free to make independent decisions about theirhealth and reproductive rights, but they are less able to exercise this freedomoutside large cities. In rural areas and smaller, more conservativetowns, contraceptives are not as readily available, and a woman’s familymembers are more likely to control her health care choices. The custom inrural districts is to have many children to help support the family’s farmingefforts. Furthermore, greater poverty and ignorance about women’s healthissues leads many families in these areas to resort to folk remedies and in -formally trained midwives.In small towns and villages, women generally cannot seek medicaladvice without the permission of their husbands or male guardians,and unmarried women especially are escorted to doctor’s visits by male