The Bigger Picture: Trafficking of Iraqi Women Rampant

Human trafficking is a global widespread issue. Due to war fluctuations in Iraq, it has become quite prevailing there. Unable to support themselves or their households, many Iraqi women and girls were widowed and orphaned. The wartime casualties have caused the death of these women's loved ones. Many were in a state of social alienation and desperate living conditions. The Project Censored article reports that 50,000 Iraqi women went to Jordan and Syria with hopes that they would reach safety, but little they did know that they would be preyed on by the human traffickers. 

The news reporter, Nihal Hassan from the The Independent explained that he had a Syrian friend who declared 95% of the women in Syria were Iraqi women who were forced into prostitution. They also were recruited to be cabaret dancers in both Jordan and Syria Most of these women were in their mid teens or in their mid twenties. Hassan also discussed the specific wardrobe that they had to wear, such as tight jeans, low-cut tops, and knee-high boots. They also wore makeup, which made them look older, but it did not dismiss the fact that they were still innocent little girls. The article also mentioned the number of refugees in Syria and because these women were banned from working legally, they had a slight possibility of seeking a stable job. Most of the Iraqi women were forced to attend customers, for their own sake. If they did and were successful, they would earn $60, which is approximately what a month's wage is in a factory. The gravity of this problem is not only that there was sex trafficking involved, but that these women were being controlled and traumatized by the human traffickers. 

As it appears, Iraqi men trafficked their female family members. They feel that in this way, they protected the women, but their goal was otherwise. They wanted to pay their debts and resolve their disputes. They usually trafficked their young female members, most of which were just eleven years old. The article explains that young girls are sold into muta'a marriages in which the girl's family receives a dowry from the husband, and the marriage is just another word for short-term prostitution arrangement.

This is an image of four Iraqi women who had just found out about the trafficking business in Syria and the woman in the middle had constantly been crying because she knew that she was to be the next victim along with her friends. Can you imagine what they must have felt and what most are still feeling from being sexually active against their wills? For all we know, most of the girls must have lost their virginities to total strangers. The fact that they have to forever live with a horrifying image of being sexually abused is such an atrocity. It is disturbing to see how they were taught how to be prostitutes without even wanting to and yet, it is even more disturbing to know that they are forced to present themselves well and hide their emotions and sufferings towards them. Most of the Iraqi women in Syria are simply an investment and exploited in a very ugly way.Where does a women's freedom stand if she is forced to deprive from her internal and external pain? 

http://annabrixthomsen.com/2013/01/25/sex-trafficking-will-end-in-equal-money-capitalism-day-168/

http://www.scoop.it/t/prostitution-trafic-et-tourisme-sexuel-french-and-english

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhY4ZGj5G4s