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Lion of Babylon -> RE: Women in the new Iraqi Army! (12/13/2007 12:36:17 AM)
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Heres a story from today. Lets be practical here, its impossible for Iraq to have women officers of any kind in the current political and religious climate. It was an ambitious but foolhardy notion and one that the average Iraqi man cannot accept...a woman in uniform. Most men would want their wives & daughters to wear the hijab and even the none muhajibat wear the hijab when on the streets of Baghdad for fear of retribution from the religious Militias like the Jihoosh Al Mahdi. Sad but true!
Iraqi policewomen are told to surrender their weapons BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi government has ordered all policewomen to hand in their guns for redistribution to men or face having their pay withheld, thwarting a U.S. initiative to bring women into the nation's police force. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, issued the order late last month, according to ministry documents, U.S. officials and several of the women. It affects all officers who have earned the title "policewoman" by graduating from the police academy. It does not apply to men in the same type of jobs.
Critics say the move is the latest sign of the religious and cultural conservatism that has taken hold in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's ouster ushered in a government dominated by Shiite Muslims. Now, that tendency is hampering efforts to bring stability to Iraq by driving women from the force, said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. David Phillips, who has led the effort to recruit female officers.
"We nursed it along," he said last week, referring to the recruiting effort. "We saw this as: 'If we could get 50% of the brain power in this country that is not being utilized engaged, how much further along would we be?' "
Without policewomen, Phillips said, there will be no officers to give pat-down searches to female suspects, even though women have joined the ranks of suicide bombers in Iraq. Last week, a female bomber killed at least 16 people north of Baghdad, at least the fifth such attack in Iraq this year. Another U.S. advisor noted that forcing out female officers will hamper investigation of crimes such as rape, which stigmatizes women in Iraq, because few victims feel comfortable reporting it to policemen.
Policewomen say the decree also will leave them unable to protect themselves at work or off duty. Scores of police employees, both officers and administrative workers, have been killed by insurgents. Men and women have traditionally been allowed to carry their Glock pistols with them after hours for security.
"We are considered policewomen. We face kidnapping. We could be assassinated. If anyone knew where we worked, of course they would try to do something to us," said a 27-year-old interviewed Sunday.
"How can I be a policewoman without a weapon?" she asked incredulously as three female colleagues nodded in agreement.
They, and Phillips, said the pistol recall was the latest in a series of moves that has limited most policewomen to desk jobs. The few who have worked on the streets have been reassigned to administrative tasks.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...la-home-center
[image]http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-12/34203935.jpg[/image]
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