Plight of Iraqi women a 'national crisis'

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: AFP

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The state of Iraqi women has become a "national crisis" since the March 2003 US-led invasion, a report released by an international women's group said on Thursday.

"Present day Iraq is plagued by insecurity, a lack of infrastructure and controversial leadership, transforming the situation for women from one of relative autonomy and security before the war into a national crisis," said the report by the US-based Women For Women International.

According to the report, issued ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, 64 percent of the women surveyed said violence against them had increased.

"When asked why, respondents most commonly said that there is less respect for women's rights than before, that women are thought of as possessions, and that the economy has gotten worse," it said.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080306/wl_mideast_afp/womeniraqunrest

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The article goes on to say how 76% of the women they spoke to said the girls in their households were not allowed to go to school.