BAGHDAD — The Iraqi parliament's Committee on Women, Family and Childhood revealed Nov. 13 that there are organized criminals behind the work of some female minors in cafes and casinos. The committee said this phenomenon is no different from that of human trafficking.

The next day, an Iraqi radio station reported the story of a 17-year-old girl who works at a nightclub in Baghdad. “I have to work because I need money” to support herself and her mother, she said. "The owner of the club raped me more than once." She also said she is subjected to beatings almost daily.

Another girl, however, told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that some cafes and nightclubs operate aboveboard and provide desperately needed employment opportunities for young women. “I managed to work at a relative's [place] because I needed money and the casino owner agreed to temporarily hire me for humanitarian reasons.”

Regardless of the situation, in conservative societies such as Iraq's, girls and women who work at casinos, nightclubs and even coffee shops are often frowned upon.