3. Targeting by society
3.12 People displaying westernised behaviour
An Iraq analyst interviewed during the 2018 DIS/Landinfo fact-finding mission to KRI stated that ‘the PMUs are targeting people that show signs of deviating morality. This is mostly when people stand out the Shia social norms. The victims are from the LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender] community or among creative people who, for instance, dress differently.’1527 Freedom House explains that ‘both men and women face pressure to conform to conservative standards on personal appearance.’1528
The USDOS 2017 report on international religious freedom mentions that according to representatives of Christian NGOs, ‘some Muslims continued to threaten women and girls, regardless of their religious affiliation, for refusing to wear the hijab, for dressing in Western-style clothing, or for not adhering to strict interpretations of Islamic norms governing public behavior.’1529 The report further states Shia militias that mobilised to fight ISIL ‘have long used their weapons and power to crack down on activities they deem “un-Islamic”’.1530 In a June 2017 e-mail quoted in a COI report posted on the website the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht), Mark Lattimer explained that the style of clothing expected of women in Iraq has become more conservative over the last decades.
Whilst there is a strict dress code for women in territories controlled by ISIL, in Baghdad and Basrah Shia militias also seek to enforce strict dress codes and are responsible for violent attacks on women whose dress styles are considered inappropriate. He further pointed out
1523 Denmark, DIS, Norway, Landinfo, Iraq: Security situation and the situation for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the disputed areas, 5 November 2018, url, p. 37.
1524 Niqash, In Northern Iraq, Some Kurdish Men Prefer Their Brides Budget, 9 March 2017, url.
1525 Lattimer, M., cited in: EASO, Practical Cooperation Meeting on Iraq, 25-26 April 2017, url, p. 24.
1526 Lattimer, M., cited in: EASO, Practical Cooperation Meeting on Iraq, 25-26 April 2017, url, p. 24.
1527 Denmark, DIS, Norway, Landinfo, Iraq: Security situation and the situation for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the disputed areas, 5 November 2018, url, p. 47.
1528 Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2018 - Iraq, January 2018, url.
1529 USDOS, 2017 Report on International Religious Freedom - Iraq, 29 May 2018, url.
1530 USDOS, 2017 Report on International Religious Freedom - Iraq, 29 May 2018, url.
that in 2006-2007, militias in Basrah and Diyala killed hundreds of women for failing to comply with the dress code.1531
In September 2018, Tara Fares, a 22-year-old model and social media celebrity was shot dead on the streets of Baghdad. This killing followed a series of violent attacks targeting prominent women considered to be ‘outspoken or bucking the norms of conservative society’. Following Fares’ killing, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an investigation to examine whether this attack was linked to other recent murders and kidnappings in Baghdad and Basrah.1532 A few days before Faras’ murder, a well-known female human rights activist and head of a local NGO was killed in Basrah. She was an active supporter of the series of anti-government protests taking place in Basrah at the time she was killed.1533 In the previous months, at least two female beauticians died in their home ‘in mysterious circumstances’, raising concerns about a systematic targeting of women owner of beauty centres.1534 In October 2018, a former Miss Iraq reported to have received death threats.1535
At EASO’s practical cooperation meeting on Iraq in April 2017 Mark Lattimer mentioned women in Iraq have been targeted for assassination because of commission of moral crimes.
In Baghdad, Asaib Ahl al-Haq has committed mass killings of women found in alleged brothels.
Also, ‘there have been dozens of cases of women turning up in Basra with notes saying they were found wearing the wrong clothes or in comprising positions and have been killed by militias.’1536 Reporting on human rights in Iraq in the July to December 2016 period UNAMI mentions several cases that involved the targeting of premises that were purportedly selling alcohol or drugs or connected to prostitution. The same source further states that ‘cafes, restaurants and houses were attacked with IEDs, usually during the night, by actors seeking to impose their own form of behavior upon those that they suspected of not adhering to their moral code.’1537
The Washington Post explains in 2016 Iraq was once proudly secular, ‘but religious parties have dominated the political landscape since the United States toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003’. Religious hard-liners were further empowered by the sectarian civil war between Sunnis and Shiites. The Shia militias that mobilised to fight ISIL ‘have long used their weapons and power to crack down on activities they deem un-Islamic’.1538 In 2015, participants and organizers of the ‘Baghdad Festival for Youth’, an event inspired by the Indian
‘Holi’ festival (known for the coloured powder participants throw on one another), were criticised and threatened after photos of the festival circulated on social media. A prominent leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq accused them of moral turpitude.1539 A January 2014 report the Al-Massalla Organization for Human Resources Development/ NPA- Norwegian People’s Aid describes how an Iraqi rap artist received direct threats from Asaib Ahl al-Haq. They deemed rap music a religiously forbidden (Haram) and as an intrusive Western art form.1540 In 2013
1531 Austria, BVwG (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) [Supreme Administrative Court], Entscheidungstext L512 1417529-1/33E [Decision/case number L512 1417529-1417529-1/33E], 8 November 2017, 8 November 2017, url.
1532 New York Times (The), A social media star is shot dead in Baghdad. Iraqis fear a trend, 28 September 2018, url.
1533 BBC News, Iraqi human rights activist shot dead in Basra, 25 September 2018, url.
1534 Al Arabiya, After death of Iraq’s ‘Barbie’, beautician dies in mysterious circumstances, 24 August 2018, url.
1535 BBC News, Former Miss Iraq ‘threatened’ after fellow Instagram star’s murder, 1 October, url.
1536 Lattimer, M., EASO, Practical Cooperation Meeting on Iraq, 25-26 April 2017, url, p. 22.
1537 UNAMI/OHCHR, Report on Human Rights in Iraq: July to December 2016, 30 August 2017, url, p. 17.
1538 Washington Post (The), Feared Shiite militias back in spotlight after three Americans vanish in Iraq, 21 June 2016, url.
1539 Middle East Eye, The death of fun in Baghdad?, 28 July 2015, url.
1540 Al-Masalla Organization for Human Resources Development/Norwegian People’s Aid, The Situation of Personal Freedoms of Iraqi Youths, January 201, url.
the Guardian reported on the rising popularity of tattoos in Baghdad, including amongst women. According to the newspaper, ‘having a tattoo in Baghdad remains a complex social negotiation’. Facing discrimination when seeking employment as public servants, police officers or soldiers, many hide their tattoos under the T-shirt line. One interviewee says he keeps his tattoo out of sight because ‘terrorists have killed people for having tattoos.’1541
1541 Guardian (The), Mum, imam and Saddam: what daring young Iraqis are saying with tattoos, 22 March 2013, url.