Fear of sexual violence grips Iraq as ISIS advances

Yet leading women’s rights activists in Iraq say that the government has seized on the threat of sexual violence as a tool for political manipulation — part of a cynical and sectarian-tinged scramble to maintain power.

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“Whether these rumors are correct or not, Maliki has already promoted this narrative,” said Azhar al-Shekhly, a politician and former minister of women’s affairs. “He is using it to incite his followers and get support for his regime.”

On a basic level, this suggests that instead of calming fears in the country, the government is working to inflame them. Sectarian tensions in Baghdad were jolted by the ISIS advance; Shekhly said they were rising steadily. “Now there is something like a nightmare gripping everyone’s minds, even in Baghdad,” she said in an interview in the capital. “We start to imagine what kind of violence ISIS will do if they enter Baghdad — kidnapping, rape. Or even if ISIS never makes it to Baghdad, people imagine how the situation will be if [Sunni and Shiite residents of Baghdad start] start fighting among themselves.”

Shekhly said that she had advised friends with daughters in Baghdad to keep them inside.

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