Violence against women is a price paid by society as a whole: (Iraq after 2003 as an example)

Abstract

In 2003, Iraq experienced a regime change. This change and the events that followed have increased the vulnerabilities faced by Iraqi women and girls during the conflict period and beyond. The lack of security for women in Iraq is considered one of the main factors hindering the achievement of gender equality, which hinders peace-building processes in society. In the first half of 2021 alone, about 15,000 women were exposed to domestic violence, whether by family members such as husbands, fathers and children, or by relatives. This number refers to cases that required security intervention, without considering the number of hidden cases inside homes. Violence against women is not limited to domestic violence, as women's groups and civil society activists who emerged as leaders after 2003 were constantly threatened. These threats come either directly through exposure to danger, or indirectly through attempts to undermine their efforts towards peaceful activism and advocacy for rights. This reflects the difficult situation that women face in Iraq, where achieving equality and building a peaceful society is considered a challenge that requires great efforts to overcome. These challenges are numerous and complex.” The economic and political conditions, wars, and terrorism that Iraqi society experienced after 2003 underscore the severity of this problem, requiring active efforts to change these social dynamics and improve the status of women.