posted July 25, 2005 05:13 PM            

Notice, USA cannot summon enough common sense to call terrorists, terrorists but Iraqi women do.

Army women defy insurgents, taboo
By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD

When Sondos' sister was murdered by insurgents for working with the Iraqi army, the 30-year-old exacted her revenge: She signed up for the military.

Iraqi women soldiers salute during their graduation ceremony in Baghdad. The army is actively recruiting women, despite cultural opposition.

"We can't walk the streets anymore. When you sleep, you know you're not safe," she says. "I have four kids. That's not the life I want for them."

Sondos is part of a class of 29 female recruits who recently completed the Iraqi army basic training course at Camp Justice in Baghdad, home to the Iraqi army's 1st Brigade, 6th Division.

The women — mothers, widows, divorcees and housewives — have joined the army despite death threats by insurgents and cultural taboos discouraging Muslim women from joining the military.

Sondos asked to be identified only by her first name to avoid reprisals by family, neighbors and insurgents.

Although female soldiers have previously completed the two-week course and joined the army, Saturday's graduating group was the first all-female class of recruits trained by female trainers on an Iraqi-run base.

Smaller groups of women have trained in Jordan and held military police jobs.

The new training reflects a growing role for women in Iraq's armed forces.

"The Iraqi army is actively recruiting women," said Lt. Col. Fred Wellman, spokesman for Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in charge of equipping and training Iraqi security forces. "They need them. There are certain jobs absolutely necessary to women." (Related story: U.S. women in Iraq)

The Khawla Bint al-Azwar Class — named after a female warrior in the time of the prophet Mohammed who disguised herself as a man to fight in Muslim wars — will join 120 other female soldiers attached to different units at the 1st Brigade.

They represent a small step toward the future look of the Iraqi army, says Brig. Gen. Jaleel Khalaf, commander of the 1st Brigade and top commander of Iraqi troops in Baghdad.

The women will take on a number of roles, including administrative, medical and public affairs duties, he says.

They'll also go on combat missions, particularly cordon-and-searches, where they'll search females in suspected insurgents' homes. And they'll interrogate and look after female suspects in the brigade detainee facility.

Like U.S. forces, the Iraqi army generally bans women from combat units such as infantry and artillery.

But in Iraq, there are no front lines, and female troops are often in harm's way.

They earn the same starting salaries as male soldiers, about $330 a month.

"This is the reality: We need female soldiers," Khalaf says. "If I have a female prisoner, what do I do? If I have to search a female and can't do it with a male, it'll be a catastrophe."

Under a broiling morning sun recently, the women lined up and saluted as Khalaf read their names and handed out certificates. Nearly all the women's faces were shielded by handkerchiefs to avoid their images being broadcast by the local media.

The U.S. Army's 256th Brigade Combat Team, which advises the Iraqis, sent a contingent of female soldiers to the ceremony in a show of support.

After the ceremony, the U.S. soldiers congratulated their counterparts and snapped pictures together.

"This is a huge step," said 1st Lt. Taysha Deaton, a public affairs officer with the 256th Brigade Combat Team. "How many years did it take us to reach this level?"

Under Saddam Hussein's regime, women had a smaller role in the military, mostly relegated to the medical corps or administrative positions in the Defense Ministry.

Female soldiers joined the Iraqi army as early as 2003, shortly after the collapse of the regime. In July 2003, under the guidance of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the Iraqi military hired the first squad of 20 female soldiers, says Lt. Col. Waleed Majeed, an early Iraqi recruiter.

Sgt. Bushra Jabar

"Some of them died, some of them quit, some of them transferred out because the Iraqi officials didn't treat them very well," he says.

Khalaf says Iraq's Shiite-dominated government has been reluctant to recruit large numbers of female soldiers. The Defense Ministry tried to ban females from joining the army, Khalaf says.

Female recruits were turned away at recruiting stations, which are run by the ministry, he says. And the ministry imposed a 9 a.m.-3 p.m. curfew on females on bases, he says.

"They're really trying to stop these women from joining my brigade," he says. "If I had the power of hiring, I'd have a female battalion."

A Defense Ministry spokesman denies allegations that officials are discouraging female participation in the army.

The curfew was mandated "for the bad security situation and because we do not have places to keep women at night and because there is no need for their staying for a long time," spokesman Maj. Salih Sarhan says.

U.S. Central Command declined to comment on Defense Ministry policies.

Sondos, the recent graduate, says her neighbors and some relatives have stopped speaking to her since she joined the army. She plans to stick with the military regardless of any resistance — from relatives, colleagues or insurgents.

She's been assigned to administrative duties but hopes to be involved in cordon-and-search missions soon, she says.

posted May 16, 2008 12:15 AM            

A newly-inducted female Iraqi Army Soldier with the 1st Iraqi Army Brigade, 6th Division shows her qualifying score to her fellow Soldiers at the firing range located on Camp Justice.
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CAMP JUSTICE, Iraq (Army News Service, July 21, 2005) - Breathing, squeezing the trigger and keeping the enemy in sight are just a few of the technical shooting techniques taught by 1st. Sgt. Amir Jabar Taleb of the 1st Iraqi Army Brigade, 6th Division, to some of the first female Soldiers inducted into the Iraqi Army.

For the first time in Iraq’s history, Iraqi leadership at an Iraqi base conducted an all-female IA basic training course. Over the past two weeks, 27 female recruits have had intensive training to learn the necessary skills to become a Soldier.

"They learned how to use weapons, map reading and battle tactics to engage the enemy during combat,” said Brig. Gen. Jaleel Khalaf Shawail, commanding general of the 1st Iraqi Army Bde., 6th Div.

“And with the help of my American friends, this course has become successful. The Americans did not participate physically in the training, but observed," he added.

Amir instructed the Soldiers on riot control and how to calm an angry crowd without losing control of the situation. Amir said the cadets performed almost flawlessly. He was honored to be one of the first instructors to teach such an important class.

“An obstacle like inducting female Soldiers into their security force is a very difficult task. Jaleel is trying to accommodate both the cultural sensibilities and the practicality of training these females,” said Lt. Col. Mark Kerry, commander of Task Force Bengal of the 256th Combat Team.

The basic training academy is located on Camp Taji, where Iraqi males are also indoctrinated into the security forces. Though the facilities are not structured to accommodated females, Camp Justice provided the necessary flexibility that Camp Taji could not.

“The cadre at Camp Justice did not minimize or downplay the academic or physical training mandated by the curriculum," said Command Sgt. Maj. Hassan Abid Khadim, the senior enlisted non-commissioned officer of the 1st IA Bde. The women received the equivalent training as the males from the academy.

Instructors Amir and Sgt. 1st Class Mohamad Mohsen Shheib both described the female Soldiers as some of the bravest women in Iraq, because there are men in this country who are afraid to wear the military uniform.

"Every time I look at the Iraqis, I say to myself, ‘Let them do it, let them figure it out.’ We should not put an American template on top of them,” Kerry said.

The brigade’s success will be the template for the rest of the Iraqi Army and inevitably it will help out the entire country, Kerry said. The Iraqi women are fighting and defying cultural trends that are stacked up against them, he added.

Many of the female Soldiers have lost their husbands in previous wars, Jaleel noted.

posted May 16, 2008 05:09 AM              

I have a serious question here...
please don't think ill of me but this just overpowered my thoughts and my heart just now.

The articles here both implied that family and friends have turned away from these woman for choosing this path...

Then we also see that:
Many of the female Soldiers have lost their husbands in previous wars.

I'm wondering who the hell is caring for their children while they do this?

I've been a single parent, this seriously concerns me.
Are these woman relying on their friends and family to raise their children? The very same ones whom disrespect them or think ill of them?

then we have this:
"“Even under these circumstances with such a strain on raising a family, they are still brave"

Is this bravery or stupidity?

Don't their children actually need a living parent, one who is "there" for them?

Sorry but these things should NOT be commended if children are further suffering...

This seems rather a strange addiction to somehow play out a warped sense of duty to ones country..

My thoughts...

Please educate me kindly if I am over-sensitive or naive towards this subject and I'll be the first to admit a lack of understanding..

posted May 16, 2008 08:34 AM            

Imo, I think it speaks loud and clear that women who are raised from birth to be "second" to men, who are raised to care for their children and families above all, would be choosing to make the military their careers. Perhaps it's difficult from where we sit to understand their whys. If I imagine myself in that position ... war all around me, no job, no husband to support me, children to care for, angry and fed up with the terrorists who will do everything they can to take over my country and ensure that my children have no future if they are even lucky enough to survive. Yeah. At that point, I can really see how a woman like that would join the military.

I've read other excerpts of Iraqi women being stunned and proud to see our women serving their country, some even wishing to do the same. I don't think they're different just because they're Iraqis. I think they want the same opportunities we do ... and that will include those women like ours who want to join the military.

I don't know how their military is shaping up. I do know that our military does have programs and help available for single parents. Deployments for our single parents can be difficult unless they have families or other trusted caregivers willing to care for their children for such extended periods. Iraqis, at this point, aren't deploying as far as I know. If I've read correctly, their female soldiers' "jobs" are day to day, routine work schedules (I refer to the time, obviously war is not "routine"). I would think their children are either in schools or with other caregivers, possibly including family members, while their mothers work. I'm not sure if women are even afforded the option of day care over there, honestly. As for families shunning the female soldiers ... I didn't read that all family members shun them. Unlike in the US where families are either small or largely dispersed, many families over there are large and close knit. So, again imo, it seems unlikely that they would all turn against those women but who really knows.

posted May 16, 2008 08:47 AM            

quote:

---

Combating Prejudice

Still, being a woman in the military brings extra challenges, particularly when it comes to the curiosity and, sometimes, derision of Iraqis who don't understand or approve of women in uniform.

Hawkins says she heard Iraqis talking about her, asking why she was in the country and not at home with her husband and children.

"I tell them that I'm a soldier, and I'm here to fight with my fellow soldiers, and it took them a long time to grasp that concept," she says.

---

posted May 16, 2008 07:47 PM              

Thank you Eleanore for your thoughtful and and informative response.

I did go digging about the internet in search of some answers myself and what I found seemed even more so disheartening *sigh

It seems the "children" have already been NOT cared for by their families but rather have been very much caring for themselves. Many as young as 4 and 5 years old. I'm not talking about the lucky few who are currently in the orphanages but the majority who live day to day in this insane environment. More than 60% of these children have left school with no hope of ever returning... to work as adults do in regular occupations that will accept them, just in order to survive.

I read a most of this news from Iraq Newspapers rather than what is filtered and changed by our own media. I feel confident that it is reality and as sick as it sounds will remain this way for many years to come.

No doubt there will be major issues in the future of their country due to these facts as well... In another 20-30 years very few will have an education past elementary level, very few will have any family attachments, and very few will have any respect towards ANY government set-up, or skills to get out of the impending mess they shall be in psychologically, physically, or spiritually.

So these woman are merely as you said indeed seeing this as some sort of real opportunity.
In fact they may see this as their ONLY sane option. This both teaches them to protect themselves and provides a desperately needed stable income.

As you've guessed already there is no "daycare" system and families are really the only support to these women. So let's say a prayer that somehow these families will hold on to one another in these times. It seems that the Iraq military does not offer many amenities or services like here in the states but they do offer a decent monetary wage equivalent to working at just above minimum wage here. In these times, in Iraq this is a good wage. Outside the military the wages are extremely smaller by comparison and the average daily hours of work are 14 hour shifts!

I was not aware that the Iraq military did not practice deployments, this news you've shared is very comforting. This thought in and of it self seemed torture to image to a single parent with little resources anywhere, but most especially the location where these children are.

posted May 16, 2008 09:37 PM            

I posted a thread Children Used by Terrorists and there is an article there that notes how the terrorists are "recruiting" these children as suicide bombers or for training with weapons, etc. I've seen pictures of children in combat gear and carrying guns. Even some of the orphanages aren't safe as there has been at least one case where the orphanage workers have taken the supplies for themselves or to sell while the children starve and are otherwise neglected. There really just aren't words to describe the pure evil of these actions.

*add*