Somali, Iraqi Women Face More Violence

U.N. Official Says Situation For Women In Many Countries Getting Worse

(AP)  Women are facing increasing violence in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, especially when they speak out publicly to defend women's rights, a senior U.N. official told the U.N. Security Council.

Noeleen Heyzer, executive director of the U.N. Development Fund for Women, called on for fresh efforts to ensure the safety of women in countries emerging from conflicts, to provide them with jobs, and ensure that they receive justice, including compensation for rape.

“What UNIFEM is seeing on the ground — in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia — is that public space for women in these situations is shrinking,” Heyzer said Thursday. “Women are becoming assassination targets when they dare defend women's rights in public decision-making.”

Heyzer spoke at a daylong open council meeting on implementation of a 2000 resolution that called for women to be included in decision-making positions at every level of striking and building on peace deals. It also called for the prosecution of crimes against women and increased protection of women and girls during war.

Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno said that, in the past year, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first woman head of state in Africa, Liberia adopted an anti-rape law, women in Sierra Leone pushed for laws on human trafficking, inheritance and property rights and women in East Timor submitted a draft domestic violence bill to parliament.

Despite these positive developments, he said, women face widespread insecurity and in many societies violence is still used as a tool to control and regulate the actions of women and girls seeking to rebuild their homes and communities.

“In Afghanistan, attacks on school establishments put the lives of girls at risk when they attempt to exercise their basic rights to education,” Guehenno said. “Women and girls are raped when they go out to fetch firewood in Darfur. In Liberia, over 40 percent of women and girls surveyed have been victims of sexual violence. In the eastern Congo, over 12,000 rapes of women and girls have been reported in the last six months alone.”

Assistant Secretary-General Rachel Mayanja, the U.N. special adviser on women's issues, said that from Congo and Sudan to Somalia and East Timor, she said, “women continue to be exposed to violence or targeted by parties to the conflict ... lacking the basic means of survival and health care.”

At the same time, Mayanja said, they remain “underrepresented in decision-making, particularly on war and peace issues.”

Assistant Secretary-General Carolyn McAskie, who is in charge of supporting the new U.N. Peacebuilding Commission which was established this year to help countries emerging from conflict, said her office will try to ensure that “space is created for women's active participation in political, economic and social life.”

“We cannot ignore the voices of the women from the time we broker peace onwards,” McAskie said. “Peacemaking is not just an exercise involving combatants, it must involve all of society, and that means women.”

At the end of the meeting, the council said it “remains deeply concerned by the pervasiveness of all forms of violence against women in armed conflicts.” and reiterated its strong condemnation of all acts of sexual misconduct by U.N. peacekeeping personnel.

Allegations of sexual abuse have also been reported in peacekeeping missions in Congo, Bosnia, Kosovo, Cambodia, East Timor and West Africa.

[bluestardad]

"Some American Women face losing their husbands and sons in wars for other people".

[mjv2944]

Oh yeah, Islam the religion of peace, what a crock. Women are treated like a piece of dirt and have no or little rights. Look at the Taliban, religious my as*, they kill for Allah. Yeah, and they also are the biggest supplier of heroin in the world. Yes, what a religion. Murderers and thugs, thats what they really are.

[mjv2944]

bluestardad

How do you think Harry Truman would have handled 9/11 and there after. There just might have been a huge lake called Afghanistan and that would have ended it once and for all.

[bluestardad]

mjv2944 Harry Truman was a whimp. He should have let MacArthur defeat China. But you are right a swift and lethal response would have been prefered to what we are in now. But then Bush does not want to Kill Bin Laden because of his family ties and the fact that while he is still alive Bush can pull him out and use him to scare the Sheep of America into Submission to the Bush Doctrine. If Bin Laden is dead then that ends his usfullness.

[bluestardad]

I am totally against sending other people's children to fight a war where the people don't want to fight for themselves.

[exusmcsgt]

You won't hear any reference to this piece from the presidential podium.....

[xenalily]

mjv2944- you can't make blanket statements about the Muslim religion that way. My African Muslim co-worker's wife is also African in origin, a beautiful and educated woman who works full time in a high paying job, drives an expensive car, wears makeup and fashionable clothes and is loved deeply by her husband. Not all Muslims oppress women.

[cathaleen]

There is a two-edged problem for the women in these countries. First is family and second is religion - both effect how these women are treated. Their family and religion both treat them like chattel. Basically a woman is owned by the male members of the family (she does all the
domestic work), she is not educated and then is given away in marriage for maybe a few goats.

Unless they change their whole way of life, there is no answer.

[grumpas]

Truman wasn't as much of a wimp as he was intelligent! There is a big difference between the two! He was smart enough to know getting into a war with China would only escalate into a mess! There was no support in this country for that kind of a war (I lived in that era)! People had lived through the second world war and didn't want another major conflict right then! Of coarse, we could have nuked them! But, when you are a super-power you have responsibilities to use that awesome power a little more wisely! To think about the consequences of your actions before you doom millions to a horrible death regardless of the reasons! There was not the world support for that kind of war either! The President we have now could take some lessons from Truman and Eisenhower both! Eisenhower warned against the military complex effect then! Bush has fallen into that trap! I can well imagine that women are mistreated in those countries! Anytime there is excessive religion involved women always lose in the end! Because religion was designed by men for men!

[Syndicate]

As bad as thigs are in Iraq women don't have to worry about being rapped by Uday on there wedding day and then thrown of a twenty story balcony anymore.

[bluestardad]

CALL TO AMERICAN VOTER
STAY FOCUSED AMERICA IT IS ABOUT TO GET TOUGH. WE HAVE A FEW MORE DAYS OF INTENSE ATTACK ADS, SMOKE SCREENS, DIVISION OF ELECTORATE, DECEPTION, MISREPRESENTATION, AND LIES, TO ENDURE BEFORE WE CAN UNCOVER THE ELECTION FRAUD, RECOUNT THE VOTE, AND THROW THESE CRIMINALS OUT OF OFFICE. THEN WE CAN START HEALING AMERICA.

[laurieleemoo]

xenalily---guess what, there actually are enough BAD Muslims out there now for us to be able to GENERALIZE! Hey, i have not heard, but maybe one or two muslims actually try to seperate themselves from these radicals, so...............until then, you're *** straight we will generalize them all. IT IS UP TO THEM TO SEPERATE THEMSELVES FROM THESE PEOPLE SINCE THEY ACTUALLY ARE THE MAJORITY NOW IT SEEMS. So, if they don't want people Generalizing them and lumping them all together then maybe instead of using their time to talk about how the americans treat them badly---and protesting against the americans all the time---MAYBE they could spend the time better by PROTESTING against all the idiots who GIVE THEM a BAD name----don't ya think?????? Maybe they should start being RESPONSIBLE muslims and EDUCATING their counterparts to stop all the HATE.

[laurieleemoo]

if they don't even try to seperate themselves from these people-----DON'T EXPECT US TO DO SO EITHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[laurieleemoo]

i've heard some of them say---oh, were are not that way---we are not the type to speak out. yeah, well i turn on my tv and see protests by muslims all over the world against the U.S.----so they can't get away with that reasoning---'cause they have some of the biggest mouths and scream louder than anyone else. So, don't let them fool you that they are just quiet and reserved because OBVIOUSLY that is just not the case. NOW THEY NEED TO USE THOSE BIG MOUTHS in the right way and PROTEST against the RADICALS----or else don't come crying to us when you are spoken about in a GENERAL manner! Capeche!

[laurieleemoo]

their silence speaks a THOUSAND WORDS!!!!!

[laurieleemoo]

and if they don't like it, maybe they will get mad enough and do something CONSTRUCTIVE about it!

[xenalily]

Let me guess laurieleemoo, you are a white southern republican bottle dyed blonde who smokes, eats a lot of beef, drives an American Car that gets about ten miles to the gallon, you have a stupid yellow magnet sticker on said car, barely got through high school and junior college, you might just live in a trailer, and you probably still refer to anyone who is African American as Colored. Is that a fair generalization based on your backward line of thinking? Because really honey get a grip!

[xenalily]

Do us all a favor laurieleemoo and drink the Kool Aid!

[hermit22]

God Bless Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. HOW did she get to power? Is she Christian? I think she must be.

Bluestardad, when a soldier doesn't want to fight for the helpless,then he should turn in his spats.

These women have probably survived more than most men in America have even thought about.
Media reports should make it clear in each artical if it is Moslem attacking Christian women and not be mum on the subject. The men are dead.

Where does the violence in the Moselem world come from? WHY such control freaks? All the screaming in public, are they brought up that way in the home? Not a woman in sight. Maybe they are tinderboxes confined to the house. so they explode on their kids? I don't know,but all that visible violence comes from someplace.

[bretware]

xenalily, I agree she's a little out of touch, but you damage your creditability when you use Sean & Rush's talking points (Kool Aid). Most of their followers only know how to attack ones person.It's sad that they have stolen your debating skills, But at least you've got the attacking down to a science. Sean & Rush would be proud.

[xenalily]

Look- I honestly didn't know that Rush and Sean? (I don't know who Sean is) say drink the Kool Aid. I was saying that because of the whacky comments laurielee was making. I don't listen to Rush and never have.

Back to the actual topic- the artical does not even state that the conflicts in Liberia are between Christians and Muslims and it does not state that Muslims are carrying out the attacks on these women. Only a small part of the population is in Liberia is Muslim- the violence comes from the conflicts and civil war that have been going on since the 80's. Every nation that these brutal crimes are occurring against women is not necessarily Muslim, and that is my point in stating that you shouldn't just see the word Iraq in an article and equate everything violent with Muslims. Most tribal conflicts in Africa- do not involve Muslims- they involve warring African tribes. Rape and violence against women is not simply a way to oppress women in Muslim society, it is a way to do so in every society including ours. Rape has always been a terrorist tactic- because it's a horrendous crime that in many situations brings forth offspring from the rapist in an attempt to sort of invade the population being attacked in the most base way. These crimes are disgusting, but if you cloud your judgement by believing that every single attack against women is carried out by Muslims you are missing the bigger picture.

[xenalily]

Women who live in Western societies are very lucky- the US has the greatest equality of the sexes of any Western Civilization. Women here are still brutalized and murdered by husbands, boyfriends and strangers and the statistics cross every racial religious barrier. Remember John Lennon's words 'woman is the *** of the world?' Well that is still true.

[nadeau4201]

Hey Xenalily If I have to read about your muslim friend, co-worker one more time I just might puke. If the article was about black Americans would you tell us about your one black friend or co-worker.

[bellal-2009]

Nothing makes me madder than this. There is only one thing to do and in a hurry; arm the women. Set up training camps for women and teach them how to fight. Send them all to boot camp. Hell, arm them with American weapons, I don't care, just teach them how to fight and kill those Muthr F'ers that terrorize them.

[bellal-2009]

How about we send a multi-national force of female soldiers to set up refugee camps and protect the women of these countries. They could also learn from the troops how to fight and in turn become empowered.