Security Concerns

Omer al-Mansuri featured a vox pop from Falluja on the impact of the instability on women’s lives. Nada Zidan Khalaf, a civil servant, said she felt nervous traveling to work because it had become risky. Shatha Abdulla, a nurse, said she makes sure she says goodbye to her family every morning because she doesn’t know whether she’ll return home safely.



Zahra al-Asady produced a report from Baghdad in which Muna Abdulghafur, an English teacher, said that her family had forced her to quit her job and stay home after she had witnessed a clash between police forces and insurgents near her work. Kareem Akif, a student's parent, remarked that the security situation placed extra burdens on parents. He said, for instance, that he now feels obliged to drive his daughter back and forth to school every day.



The show interviewed Brigadier-General Abdulkareem Khalaf, an interior ministry spokesperson, who insisted that the number of attacks on women remains remarkably low, making up no more than three per cent of insurgent and criminal gang violence. He also said the police had arrested a number of gangsters who had abducted and raped women.



A feature by Yasemin Ahmed looked at how some women were trying to do their bit to stem the violence by joining the police force. Zina Mohammed, a policewoman, said she enjoyed her job but hoped to take part in patrols and raids. Another policewoman, Amal Abdulwahab, said she felt society took a dim view of the women who do police work.