33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

IRAQ 7 Following the Iran-Iraq War, the loss of male lives was so severe that the government set out to increase the population. Government grants were given to men to marry war widows, and polygamy became more common. Divorce is accepted, but usually is the decision of the husband. If the husband wishes to be divorced, it is normally without question or problem, while it is close to impossible for a woman to initiate divorce. Presently, families tend to live within extended households. The extended family unit consists of the older couple, sons, their wives and families, and unmarried daughters. Other dependent relatives may also make up part of this group, and the oldest male heads the group. He manages property and makes the final decisions regarding such things as the type of education the children receive, their occupations, and whom they will marry. Typically, household and child-rearing tasks are shared among all female members of the larger families. For couples who are able to afford living in a nuclear household, women who work outside the home are still responsible for all domestic and child-care responsibilities. The challenge of the woman's role in this situation is that there is no change in cooking methods or materials, and they are isolated from the help and emotional support of other female family members 13 . GBV: Gender-based violence, particularly sexual violence, has escalated in Iraq since the US- led invasion in 2003 until the surge of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the country, killing at least 14,000 women in 12 years. Iraqi women have been targeted primarily by opposing jihadist groups and militias as a war tactic often used in conflict zones. However, the male-dominated society, sectarian divides and the breakdown of the rule of law have systematised gender-based violence in Iraq, even turning authorities — who supposedly should protect vulnerable populations, including women and children, in conflict — as accomplice to violence against women 14 . Sexual violence is used as a tactic of terror in the armed conflict, primarily targeting women and girls of specific ethnic and religious minority groups in Iraq and Syria. Those living in areas under Daesh control are at risk of rights violations, abduction, sexual slavery, 1 3 http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Iraq.html 1 4 http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/23836