Iraq

A 17-year-old Iraqi girl has been murdered by her father in an 'honour killing' after falling in love with a British soldier in Basra.
Residents of a western Baghdad neighbourhood have said militant groups in the area are hunting down women and killing them, and have appealed to parliament to do something, a member of parliament (MP) said on 22 April, 2008.
Pascale Warda, an Assyrian Chaldean Christian, knows what it feels like to be in a minority community and a woman in Iraq. As an activist it is precisely these causes that are important to her. Excerpts from a conversation.
"In today's Iraq, women are being killed by militia groups for not conforming to strict Islamist ways."
The Anfal decision, as it is known, named six of Saddam's highest officials as responsible for the genocidal campaign that left hundreds of Kurdish people dead. It also designated rape as a form of torture.
"Arrêtons le génocide des femmes en Irak! Dénonçons les assassinats de femmes à Bassoraet à Al-amara!"
One hundred and thirty-three women were killed last year in Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, either by religious vigilantes or as a result of so-called “honour” killings, a report said on 31 December, 2007.
The Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) condemns the killings of women in Basra and Umara and calls for women's protection services.
Unicef says an estimated two million children in Iraq continue to face threats, including poor nutrition, disease and interrupted education.
"Commemorating pioneer women and present challenges for the Iraqi women march"
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