BASIC
COUNTRY INFORMATION
Population, 1997:��US$21.8 million
Ethnicities:� 75-80% Arab, 15-20% Kurdish, 5% Turkoman, Assyrian
and other�
Religion:� 97% Muslim (60-65% Shi�a, 32-37% Sunni), 3% Christian
and other
GDP, 1998 estimate:�US$52.3 billion
GDP, real growth rate, 1998 estimate:�10%
GNP per capita, 1998 estimate:�US$2,400
Major industries:� petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction
materials, food processing
Population Growth Rate, 1980-1997:�3.1%
Infant mortality rate, 1997:�112� per 1,000 live births
Literacy, 1995 estimate:
����������� Total:�58%
����������� Male:�70.7%
����������� Female:�45%
Primary School Enrollment Ratio, net, 1996:
����������� Male: 81%
����������� Female:�71%
Life expectancy at birth, 1997:�58 years����������
Female-Male difference:�2 years
Safe Water , population with access, 1996:� 77%
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.
