Rebecca Murray

Fight for Iraqi Women’s Rights Begins All Over Again

BAGHDAD — When a middle-aged mother took a taxi alone from Baghdad to Nasiriyah, about 200 miles south, earlier this year, her 20-year-old driver stopped on the way, pulled her to the side of the road and raped her. And that began a telling legal struggle. “She is not a simple case,” says Hanaa Edwar, … Continue reading “Fight for Iraqi Women’s Rights Begins All Over Again”

‘Protection’ Law Offers Little Safety

BAGHDAD – When Ali Sumerian, an editor for Al-Sabah newspaper, and three local media colleagues sat down for a restaurant meal after reporting on a demonstration in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on Feb. 25 this year, security forces detained them. "We were accused of encouraging an anti-political process," says Sumerian. It was only after their arrest … Continue reading “‘Protection’ Law Offers Little Safety”

For Iraqis, Treatment for Trauma is Luxury

BEIRUT – The young woman was walking with her husband along a Baghdad street when she was abducted, held captive and raped repeatedly by five militia men for several days. "Before, she was very proud of her body but now she is overweight – she eats to protect herself and not to attract people," says … Continue reading “For Iraqis, Treatment for Trauma is Luxury”

Lebanon: What a ‘Safe’ Cluster Bomb Did

TYRE – The explosion ripped through the tiny garden in rural south Lebanon, hurling Naemah Ghazi to the ground. The shrapnel from the bomb sliced through her legs, and she rapidly lost consciousness. “There was a lot of blood,” her mother Khadija recalls. “All her body was bleeding.” Naemah, 48, lived quietly with her mother … Continue reading “Lebanon: What a ‘Safe’ Cluster Bomb Did”