Iraqi Protestor Beaten, Intimidated

Oct 6, 2011
Kayt Peck

Aya Al Lamie speaking at one of the weekly Tahrir Square protests - Courtesy of OWFI

Beatings and threats answer Iraqi woman's calls for freedom. Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) supports victim.

Despite limited coverage by world media, Iraqi citizens continue protests each Friday in Baghdad's Tahrir Square. For 20-year-old Aya Al Lamie there was a dear price to be paid for free expression during protests on Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. A group of men subdued her, threw her into the trunk of a car and transported her to a site in Jadiriyah-Baghdad where she was beaten with sticks and whipped on her back and arms with cables. She was released later that day with the admonition "That was your first warning."

Attacks on Protestors Not New

According to a news release from Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), such attacks have become commonplace at the weekly protests. Yanar Mohammed, president of OWFI, reports that before Aya was taken to Jadiriyah-Baghdad, the car in which she was imprisoned was driven to a location adjacent to Tahrir Square, working within sight of army, police and security personnel, in what OWFI observers described as a "mob kidnapping" operation. While Aya has gone public with her experience, evidence indicates that many other victimized protestors suffered in silence.

The presence of women at the weekly protests has diminished since civilian-clothed men began targetting women starting with the Tahrir Square protest on June 20, 2011. OWFI reported that bus-loads of men dressed in track-suits attacked pro-democracy protestors on that date, targeting women for assaults, including violence with sexual implications. Despite the risks, young Aya Al Lamie added her voice to the protests each week, adamant that women's voices must be heard. Despite the beating and threats, Lamie continues her commitment to the weekly protests.

"It seems Tahrir square has become a symbol of struggle and determination for the youth. She (Lamie) has just assured me that she will never quit the struggle however bad they get back at her. And they have asked her repeatedly while beating and dragging her by the hair: 'Will you be going back to Tahrir?,'" Mohammed said in a private Internet interview with Kayt C. Peck on Monday, Oct. 3, 2011.

While attacks on protestors continue with impunity, the "thugs" carrying out those attacks are in civilian clothes with no obvious official affiliation. Despite that fact, protest organizers are certain that they represent the regime of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

"The thugs of Maliki prove again that they are the enemies of women," Mohammed said.

Hidden Revolution

Although seeing limited or no coverage by Western media, Iraqis have continued protests on a weekly basis since the February 25, 2011 Day of Rage protests brought hundreds of thousands of Iraqis into the streets at sites throughout the country. A number of social, labor, human and women rights groups continue to organize and implement protests using peaceful means to end years of violence and unrest and create a stable and free society for the people of Iraq.

Limited coverage by Western media has not gone unnoticed by journalists in the Arab world. For example, an English translation of Zainab Saleh's Arabic article in a February issue of the publication Jadaliyya, Saleh states, "This conspicuous absence (of coverage of Iraqi protests) is due to the nature of the present political regime in Iraq, which adopted and institutionalized a sectarian discourse after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Iraq is reminiscent of Lebanon: the sectarian quota system has paralyzed political life."

While peaceful protests have long been a means to call for change, they have limited effectiveness without public awareness. OWFI officials feel that improved coverage of ongoing protests will give power to the sacrifices of Iraqi protestors such as Aya Al Lamie. It is with this hope Lamie will continue adding her woman's voice to the weekly protests. She can only speak. It is up to others to listen.