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Women Lose Ground in the New Iraq
Zahra Khalid, 30, left, shops in Baghdad on her first outing in two months. With Islamic fundamentalism and sectarian warfare on the rise in Iraq, more and more women live in fear.
(Photos By Andrea Bruce -- The Washington Post)
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Her mother, Shadam, wants her to stay at home as much as possible, saying she has heard too many stories about young women being kidnapped. Bahjet has nothing to do at home, other than talk to her friends on the phone.
"There's no chance to build our future," she said.
She lowered her voice and spoke slowly as she searched for the right words in English: "I joke that we should go see psychiatrists. All Iraqis are depressed."
Many young women at Bahjet's alma mater worry that they, too, will have nothing to do after they graduate. On a recent afternoon, Enas Moyad sat in an empty classroom at Baghdad University contemplating her future. Ask her if she is depressed, and she's quick to answer: "I'm psychologically tired."
She is 21.
Like many Iraqi parents, Moyad's had encouraged her to go to school. Now they don't.
This month, a Sunni Arab insurgent group asked Sunni students and professors not to attend classes while it "cleanses" the campuses of Shiite death squads. The group later said in a statement that it was canceling the rest of the school year. The threat was circulated so widely that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issued a statement urging students to ignore it.
Fearing attacks on the way to campus, Moyad and nine other students have pitched in to hire a Kia minibus to take them there. Some of her girlfriends carry knives in their bags. Others take pistols, she said.
For months, attendance has been falling at the College of Education for Women, where Moyad is in her fourth year. One sociology professor said he had given only two lectures since Sept. 3. Normally, he gives 22 lectures a week.
Moyad, who shows her rebellious side by letting a few dyed blond bangs show from under her green hijab, or head scarf, said she worries about what her degree will do for her in the new Iraq.
"We are afraid that no one will take them," she said.
Stay or Leave?
Many educated, professional women have struggled with the question of whether to stay in Iraq.
