Baghdad
In a rare public accusation of rape, a Sunni woman went on Al-Jazeera television this week and said she’d been assaulted by three men serving in the Shiite-dominated security forces. Her face veiled, only her teary eyes visible, the woman said she was arrested on suspicion of helping insurgents and then gang-raped at a police garrison. Sunni leaders said the rape proved that the security forces could not protect Sunnis; Shiites said the woman made up the story to smear Shiites. When the official who oversees Sunni mosques called for an international investigation into the rape charge, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, promptly fired him. Rape victims almost never come forward in Iraq, as they risk being killed by their own relatives to erase the stain on the family’s honor.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Selfies ban in art galleries: a sign of the times?Talking Point Priceless art has been damaged by visitors desperate to take a snap with star attractions, leading some galleries and museums to start fighting back
-
Quiz of The Week: 21 – 27 JuneHave you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: How do you turn plastics into paracetamol?Podcast Plus, what is the Wagner Group doing now? And why is it so hard to find a job after university?
