Women’s rights activists in Iraq are increasingly targeted with violence and threats as they work to combat sexual abuse and harassment in the country. Sarah Jassim, an activist who posts videos of harassment incidents on social media to document evidence and shame perpetrators, reports receiving death threats and threats of acid attacks. She now remains largely isolated at home for safety reasons while advocating for stronger legal frameworks that explicitly criminalize harassment and gender-based violence, terms currently absent from Iraq’s penal code.
Survivors and advocates describe widespread failures within Iraq’s justice and police systems. Legal proceedings are lengthy and complicated with uncertain outcomes, while many women fear social stigma and family backlash if they report abuse. A case documented in the reporting involves a woman identified as Amal who has spent approximately five years pursuing court action against her ex-husband for allegedly raping their underage daughter at gunpoint. Despite presenting medical evidence and DNA support, she has struggled to secure legal representation while her ex-husband reportedly fled and hired multiple lawyers.
According to a UN committee report from May, violence against women and girls in Iraq remains widespread and underreported. The UN has called for stronger legislation, including the repeal of laws that allow reduced sentences for so-called honor killings and exonerate rapists who marry their victims. The threat environment for activists intensified when Yanar Mohammed, a prominent women’s rights advocate who co-founded shelters for abused women, was murdered outside her home by armed men last March. UN experts indicated she had received years of death threats and online abuse believed to originate from extremist religious militia groups.
Activists emphasize systemic failures extending beyond victim silence. According to Mustafa Saadoon, head of the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, the fundamental issue is not that women remain quiet about abuse, but rather that Iraq’s institutions lack adequate mechanisms to respond to disclosures. Iraq has very few shelters for abused women, leaving many survivors without safe housing or independent income options.
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