Iraqi Women Endure Sexual Harassment
Increasing awareness of sexual harassment and abuse endured by Iraqi women on a daily basis has shed light on the need for social institutions to combat this kind of injustice.
Iraqi society stands helpless against increasing sexual harassment, despite dominating conservative values that have prevented people from moving toward social, economic and media openness since 2003.
What makes Iraq different from other communities that suffer from the same problem, however, is that Iraqi women no longer keep their silence about the sexual abuse they endure in a patriarchal society that waives their rights in many areas of life. Moreover, media outlets have started boldly approaching the problem, after timidly dealing with it initially.
Sexual harassment is mostly verbal. Women may be subject to this kind of harassment in the workplace and in public places, with one of the worst scenarios being bosses who harass their employees.
Harassers do not care about the social status of women, and whether they are married or not.
