Sources: 1999 World Development Indicators [1] and World Factbook 1999 [2]

Recent Political History

The turbulent recent history of Iraq includes the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, civil strife with the Kurds in the North and Shi’a Muslims in the South, a conflict with neighboring Iran (1980-1988) [3] , and the invasion of Kuwait (1990).  The invasion was followed by a US-led bombing campaign (1991), as well as international economic sanctions and the UN establishment of no-fly zones in the North and South of the country.  

Saddam Hussein has been the president since 1979 and his Ba’ath party has been in power since 1968. [4]    He ran unopposed for another 7-year term in October 1995.  Although a 1991 law authorizes the creation of political parties, none have been  formed and  Iraq is a de facto one-party system.  The authorities have publicly stated that a multi-party system might destabilize the regime, and there are reports that political opponents are arrested and many are executed. [5]

UN Sanctions

The UN trade sanctions were imposed on Iraq in response to the invasion of Kuwait in 1990. [6]   They ban UN member nations from any trade with Iraq. Since 1995, Iraq has been allowed to sell a limited amount of oil in order to afford food and medical supplies and  in December 1999, the limits on oil sales were removed. [7]   Nevertheless, some experts claim that the program does not meet the “basic needs of the people and only provides short-term handouts instead of a long-term development.�? [8]   In February 2000, Hans von Sponeck, the UN officer in charge of the oil-for-food program resigned in protest. [9]

The sanctions have failed to undermine the regime, but have had a catastrophic effect on the Iraqi society, especially in regard to health and nutrition.  Before 1990, 93 percent of the population had access to clean water and to a good health care system, and the people were fairly prosperous.  According to the Iraqi Health Ministry, more than one and a quarter million Iraqis have died as a result of the embargo, and the sanctions have led to malnutrition and to the spread of infectious diseases, such as cholera and scabies. [10]   

The sanctions have had an especially horrible effect on Iraqi children and women. [11]    Iraq has the highest rate of child mortality in the world, the highest rate of premature babies and the highest rate of babies born with low birth weight. [12]    Low birth weight babies often do not survive, as properly working incubators are often unavailable in hospitals. [13]     The mortality rate for children in 1998 is three times the rate prior to 1990. [14]    According to the Iraqi Health Ministry, in January 2000 alone, more than 8,000 Iraqi children died as a result of the severe medicine and food shortages resulting from the sanctions. [15]

No-Fly Zones

Since December 1998, the US and Great Britain have bombed Iraqi targets almost daily in the two, northern and southern, “no-fly zones.�? [16]    Civilian installations and areas, such as a train station and plantations, have been damaged.  As of March 2000, 159 Iraqis had been killed and scores had been injured in the raids. [17]  

Kurdistan

Iraq’s Kurdistan in the North of the country has been outside Saddam Hussein’s control since the 1991 Gulf War.  The region has its own currency and a school curriculum that teaches a Kurdish version of Iraq’s history.  The two main Kurdish factions, which had struggled for dominance, signed a cease fire in September 1998: [18]   Currently, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan has control over the Irbil and Dahuk provinces, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan controls the Sulaymaniyah province. [19]

There is also a de facto partition of Kurdistan from the central and southern part of Iraq by the “no-fly�? zones and by the sanctions.  For example,  the UN administers the oil-for-food program in the North, while the Iraqi government administers the program in the South/Central region, which the UN only monitors. [20]   There is some evidence that the northern Kurdish provinces may have benefited from the sanctions more than the central and southern regions, and some experts claim that the Sanctions Committee is more lenient with Kurdistan than it is with the rest of Iraq. [21]     UN officials point to several factors that may have contributed to the fact that the North has fared better compared to the rest of the country.  These include:

·        the region benefits from a “porous�? border with Turkey, profiting from the illegal export of diesel, among other things;

·        the North receives a higher per capita allocation from the oil-for-food program, as 13 percent of the population receive 19 percent of the revenue;

·        there are 34 active NGOs in the North as compared to only 11 in the South;

·        typically, contracts for purchases by the North which are submitted to the Sanctions Committee are approved much faster than those for the South. [22]  

Nonetheless, several UN officials from WHO, and UNICEF have argued that the oil-for-food program administered by the government in the South/Central Iraq is very effective.  The vast majority of supplies received are distributed to the end user, leaving only a 14-percent buffer stock in storage (less than what the WHO recommends). [23]

Despite these developments, the territorial integrity of Iraq has been affirmed by various UN resolutions. [24]   Also, the United States and other countries have emphasized the importance of maintaining territorial integrity of Iraq, among other reasons, because of the potential impact the secession of Iraqi Kurdistan could have on independence aspirations of the Kurds in Turkey, Iran and Syria.

Human Rights and Freedom of Expression

Access to Independent Information

The Iraqi government exercises complete control over the media.   Both print and broadcast media, including the two main outlets, the daily Babil and the Shabab TV, are strictly censored and serve as government propaganda instruments.  No information critical of the leader or the system is accessible as other news sources are unavailable to Iraqi citizens, foreign radio stations are jammed by the authorities, and a possession of a satellite dish is a crime punishable by imprisonment and fines.  There is no access to the Internet in Iraq.  Foreign publications are available only in the autonomous Kurdish areas in northern Iraq. [25]

Minorities

The Assyrian Academic Society has reported that the Assyrians have not been recognized as a distinct minority in Iraq, although the group is recognized as a religious minority.  For instance, in the official Iraqi Census of 1977 and 1987, Assyrians were not allowed to describe themselves as Assyrian.  According to the report, Assyrians are not considered and treated as full citizens of the country.  In 1992-1993, all Assyrian teachers and professors who had previously claimed Ottoman nationality were forced to retire and some were deported or discriminated against.  Following the 1991 Gulf War, Assyrians have reported confiscation of land and various forms of harassment in the autonomous Kurdish areas as well.  There have been some reports of abductions and rapes of Assyrian girls. [26]   In 1998, AI reported that members of the Assyrian community were deliberately killed during a raid on a prison in Shaqlawa in a Kurdish-controlled province. [27]

Internally Displaced Persons

The number of displaced people stands at 500,000 in the North, and 80,000 in South/Central Iraq.  This portion of the population finds itself in the most vulnerable position and it is unknown what kind of assistance, if any, these people receive from the Iraqi government, especially given the catastrophic economic situation of the country.  It is unknown if there is any concerted effort by the government to return them to their homes. [28]

STATUS OF WOMEN IN IRAQ UNDER SPECIFIC CEDAW ARTICLES:

CONVENTION ARTICLE 1

DEFINITION OF DISCRIMINATION

Although the Iraqi Constitution Art. 19 (a) states that “citizens are equal before the law, without discrimination because of sex, blood, language, social origin, or religion,�? [29] and the legal system provides for some rights for women, there is no explicit prohibition of discrimination against women. [30]

CONVENTION ARTICLE 3

BASIC RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS

Travel

Women cannot travel abroad alone and have to be accompanied by a male relative if they do so. 

CONVENTION ARTICLE 5

SEX ROLES AND STEREOTYPING

According to author Sana Al-Khayyat, the modernization program of the Ba’ath Party over the years has not changed the basic ideology of honor and shame, which finds its expression in the societal discrimination of women.  Even though the Iraqi leadership was committed to the full participation of women in the national development process as well as to a revolutionary socialist ideology emphasizing the liberation of women, Al-Khayyat maintains that the personal status laws have been manipulated (depending on the political and economic situation of the country) to hinder the realization of these goals.  Despite the equality platform of Ba’ath governments since 1971, in the 1980s, the governments promoted the women’s domesticity and motherhood to replenish the 1.5 percent of the population that had been killed in the Iran-Iraq war. [31]

Al-Khayyat also claims that despite women’s increased role in public life and their work outside the home, attitudes about the acceptable women’s activity and modesty have not changed in Iraq. For instance, sports, clubs, and other recreational activities are still largely seen as unacceptable for girls and women.  Consequently, outside the extended family network, girls are limited in their social contacts and activities.  The same is true for married women who have almost no avenues of outside activity. [32]   According to Al-Khayyat, the government has not made sufficient efforts to promote new roles for women and to effect a fundamental change in women’s societal position through legislative changes, educational reform and campaigns aimed at changing the traditional stereotypical roles of women. [33]

CONVENTION ARTICLE 6

PROSTITUTION AND TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN

The harsh economic situation has led to an increase in prostitution in Iraq. [34]   There have been reports of women prostituting themselves to raise money to feed their children for as little as a can of Pepsi or 10,000 dinars (six dollars). [35]    There also have been reports that some desperate families have offered their daughters for prostitution to foreign businessmen. [36]   

Amnesty International  reported that in 1997, the Iraqi government sentenced to death a group of five men and one woman on charges of organized prostitution and smuggling alcohol. [37]   However, it is unknown if the Iraqi government has taken any action to examine and counteract this trend to prevent the exploitation of women.

CONVENTION ARTICLES 7 AND 8

POLITICAL AND PUBLIC LIFE

Women gained the right to vote in 1980 in Iraq. [38]   Although the law provides for the election of women and minorities to the National Assembly, both groups are underrepresented in government and politics.  Women make up only 11 percent of the Legislature, and there are no women in the Cabinet.  This places Iraq in the lowest 10 percent of countries  in the world as to this issue. [39]

CONVENTION ARTICLE 10

EDUCATION

The economic and social crisis has heavily impacted the education system.   At present, about 50 percent of schools in central and southern Iraq are unfit for teaching and learning. [40]    In the North of Iraq, the situation is similar and many children still use wagons and other inappropriate places for studying. [41]    The items that children need for their development and education, such as toys, paper, textbooks and pencils have not been allowed into the country. [42] As a result of school supply, textbook, and furniture shortages and low salaries, many teachers leave the profession for other better paid jobs.  This has resulted in overcrowded classrooms and shortened curricula and classroom time. [43]

The overall impoverishment of the population has resulted in a high rate of drop-outs: between 1990 and 1999, the drop-out rate doubled — increasing from 3 to 6.6 percent. [44]    As parents cannot afford to send children to school, these children take to the streets to earn a living or to supplement their families’ incomes by selling goods or begging. [45]   In Baghdad, for example, there are increasing numbers of street children, some of whom are caught committing petty theft and other crimes. [46]     It is unknown what the impact of this situation is on girls specifically.

Women’s Education versus Child Mortality Rates

A UNICEF child mortality rates survey found that the mother’s education had a direct impact on the rates of child mortality in Iraq, with the rate decreasing with the higher educational level of the mother.  This correlation provides strong support for policies to eliminate women’s illiteracy and promote women’s education. [47]

CONVENTION ARTICLE 11

EMPLOYMENT

The government has enacted laws to protect women from exploitation and from sexual harassment in the workplace.  They are allowed to join the regular army, the Popular Army, and police forces. However, according to some reports, these rights have eroded during the economic and political crisis.   Currently, women make up only slightly more than 20 percent of the workforce.  Only 15 percent of administrative and managerial positions are occupied by women.  Women hold 7 percent of clerical jobs.  They constitute 10 percent of the sales sector, and 19 percent in services. [48]

The system of child care support within the extended family household is disappearing.  Without adequate child-care opportunities outside the family, women are forced to juggle all the traditional responsibilities of house work and child care, as well as wage work outside the home. [49]  

CONVENTION ARTICLE 12

HEALTH CARE AND FAMILY PLANNING

According to the World Health Organization, prior to 1991, about 97 percent of the urban population and 78 percent of rural residents had access to health care, which was based on an extensive network of health facilities and serviced by a large fleet of vehicles and ambulances. [50]   Currently, the access of women and children to the health care system is extremely limited.  For instance, in the North of Iraq, only 28 percent of the existing health facilities provide regular immunization services, 21 percent are attended by qualified doctors and only 20 percent provide maternal care services. [51]    As a rule, the situation in rural areas is the most difficult.

Nutrition and Breastfeeding Practices

Malnutrition affects one out of every four children in central/southern Iraq and large numbers of children in North Iraq. [52]    According to UNICEF and other reports, one of the reasons for this situation is breastfeeding practices.  Reports indicate that in North Iraq, only 5.5 percent of women breastfeed exclusively, while the prevalence of the bottle feeding of children 0-11 months of age stands at 59 percent. The remaining percentage use a  mix of bottle and breastfeeding. [53]    One of the reasons for this situation is that the government of Iraq provides breast milk substitutes in its rations to pregnant and lactating women. In 1999, UNICEF recommended that the milk substitutes these women receive should be removed and replaced by an additional food ration. [54]    Additionally, UNICEF recommended that the government take responsibility for the promotion of breastfeeding by conducting campaigns encouraging women to use it exclusively instead of bottle-feeding.

Child and Maternal Mortality

Iraq has the highest mortality rates in the world. There is, however, a difference in child mortality rate between the North (see section on Kurdistan above) and the South/Central Iraq.  According to a recent UNICEF report, in South/Central governorates, under-5 mortality more than doubled from 56 deaths per 1000 live births (1984-1989) to 131 deaths per 1000 live births (1994-1999).  In the same area, infant mortality increased from 47 per 1000 to 108 per 1000 in the same years.  In the autonomous Kurdish northern governorates (Dohouk, Erbil and al-Suleimainiyah), under-5 mortality rate fell from 80 to 72 deaths per 1000 live births, and infant mortality fell from 64 to 59 death per 1000 live births in the same time frame. [55]

Iraq also has a very high maternal mortality rate of 294 per 100,000 births (these numbers are for the Central/South). [56]     Also, low birth weight babies (less than 2.5 kg) increased from 4 percent to about a quarter of all births in 1997. [57]    The main cause of this rise in the indicators is malnutrition and anemia among pregnant women.  According to UNFPA and sources such as the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as many as 70 percent of Iraqi women suffer from anemia. [58]   

Family Planning

According to International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the Iraqi government views fertility levels as being too low and has maintained a pro-natalist stance for a number of years.  During the Iran-Iraq war, the government established a special award for women who had borne ten children. [59]    In 1994, the government refused to attend the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo as a demonstration of its reluctance to support reproductive rights.  There is no official national population policy in Iraq.  At the same time, contraceptives are freely distributed and, according to IPPF, about 18 percent of married women of reproductive age use contraception and 10 percent use a modern method (with a preference for IUDs and the pill — a small percentage prefer condoms). [60]    In the past few years, all contraceptives have been imported by the International Family Planning Association (IFPA) under a special dispensation from the UN embargo. [61]   Abortion is permitted in Iraq with restrictions. [62]

CONVENTION ARTICLE 13

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS

Kurdish Women

The Kurdish regions have a higher percentage of women as a result of the disappearances of tens of thousands of Kurdish men during the Anfal Campaign [63] :   Mothers, widows, and daughters of the victims are often economically dependent on relatives or villages as they may not inherit the property or assets of their missing relatives.  Kurdistan Women Union (KWU) reported that these women are in need of special assistance to improve their status, including cultural, living and health conditions. [64]  

CONVENTION ARTICLE 14

RURAL WOMEN

As of 1999, there were no telephones outside Baghdad, which made it difficult or impossible to distribute food and other goods. [65]   According to UNICEF, service delivery, especially of health care, to women and children in rural areas is extremely difficult. [66]

CONVENTION ARTICLES 15 and 16

EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW AND MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LAW

Personal Status Law

Iraq’s Law of Personal Status was changed by an Amendment of the 1959 Law of Personal Status (1978) with the stated intention to improve the status of women.  Among other things, the Law as amended does the following: a) establish the minimum age of marriage as 18, b) prohibit coercion or obstruction with regard to marriage, c) prohibit a second marriage outside the court when the first marriage is still valid, d) give the wife the right to divorce, and e) revise the law of succession to allow a daughter to inherit in the place of a male when there is not a living son.   Despite these changes, the law still discriminates against women and reports have indicated that the implementation of these laws has declined as Iraq’s political and economic crisis persists. [67]

Moreover, although there are no Shari’a (Islamic law) courts as such, civil courts are empowered to administer Islamic law in cases involving personal status, such as divorce and inheritance, and Islam is the official state religion. 

Marriage

According to Article 17 of the Iraqi Marriage Law, a Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim woman but a Muslim woman is not allowed to marry anyone else except a Muslim man. [68]  

Polygamy

Although polygamy had not been practiced for decades, it is sanctioned by religious law and some reports indicate it has made a comeback in recent years.  According to Barbara Nimri Aziz, as a result of an unbalanced male-female ratio stemming from the outflow of men, some families are adopting polygamy  as a “solution to their daughters’ limited marriage prospects.�? [69]

GENERAL RECOMMENDATION # 19

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Rape

The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence and human rights organizations have reported that women suffered severe psychological trauma following rapes while in custody during the Anfal Campaign and during the occupation of Kuwait.  The Government never acknowledged these violations, conducted investigations, nor took action against the perpetrators.  It is unknown if the women are provided with any counseling or any other assistance to help them deal with the trauma.

Domestic Abuse

There is evidence that domestic violence occurs, although the extent of the problem is not known.  There is no public recognition and discussion of the issue, and it is typically dealt with within the family structure.  Spousal abuse constitutes grounds for divorce and criminal proceedings, but suits brought against such abuses are thought to be rare.  Men who kill female relatives for “immoral deeds�? may receive immunity from prosecution under a 1990 law.

Honor Killings

According to reports by Kurdish women’s organizations, several Iraqi laws and resolutions sanction murder of women in cases involving “honor.�?  For example, the Law No. 3818/1971 from the Juridical Periodic no. 3, year 4 states that the murdering of women for a scandal is not regarded a crime. [70]   Resolution No. 150, 240, 304/General Board/1979, states that a man who kills his sister for having sex and becoming pregnant before marriage is considered innocent because her act resulted in a family scandal.  This is true even if the sister marries her lover. Resolution no. 342/Criminal Law/1979, states that a man who kills his female cousin for running away from her family’s house is also considered innocent. [71]   This is because her escape is considered a scandal for the family according to tradition.  Resolution no. 660/1979 states that if witnesses prove that a woman was murdered because she did not “behave well,�? then the offense is regarded as being committed for the sake of honor. [72]

ACTIONS BY OTHER UN HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

PERTAINING TO WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS:

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Iraq. 19/08/99. (Fourteenth periodic report).

No recommendations concerning women were issued by this Committee.

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child : Iraq. 26/10/98. (Initial report).

Subjects of concern and recommendations:

·        Review the system of data collection with a view to incorporating all the areas covered by the Convention, including all children, with specific emphasis on vulnerable ones, including those who are victims of abuse or ill-treatment, child workers, children involved with the administration of juvenile justice, the girl child, children of single-parent families and children born out of wedlock, abandoned and/or institutionalized children, and children with disabilities.

·        Though Iraqi legislation prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, in practice there are still disparities between boys and girls, particularly with respect to inheritance rights and the right to education;  Take all appropriate measures, including legislative measures, to ensure non-discrimination at all levels of society and to encourage equality between boys and girls; Take additional measures to ensure the school enrollment of girls, especially in rural areas, and to reduce their drop-out rate, particularly during the compulsory education period.

·        Develop comprehensive policies and programs to promote and improve breastfeeding practices, to prevent and combat malnutrition, especially in vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of children.

·        Promote adolescent health policies and the strengthening of reproductive health education and counseling services.

·        Take all appropriate measures to provide equal access to education, encourage children, particularly girls, to stay in school and discourage early entry into the labor force.

Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee: Iraq. 19/11/97. (Fourth periodic report).

Subjects of concern and recommendations:

·        Concern about the continued operation of family and inheritance laws which are incompatible with the principle of gender equality under articles 2, paragraph 1, 3, 23 and 26 of the Covenant. Take steps to promote and ensure full equality between men and women in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the country, and to eliminate all forms of legal and de facto discrimination against women.

Concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights : Iraq. 30/05/94. (Second periodic report).

Suggestions and recommendations:

·        Adopt the necessary measures to accord greater priority to the education of women, including the eradication of female illiteracy.