"Documents the extensive use of violence against women in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion, with a particular focus on violations perpetrated during the upsurge in violence over the past two years. Whether driven by political, 'moral' or sectarian motives, attacks on women have become a tactic of war used by parties on both sides of the conflict. The report draws on new gender-disaggregated data on civilian casualties, which indicate that the armed conflict in Iraq has led to the violent deaths of approximately 14,000 women since 2003. In addition to the women killed in bombings, shelling and air attacks on civilian areas in Iraq, women have been deliberately targeted for assassination by both pro-and anti-government militias across the country. 'Both Sunni and Shi'a militias have carried out mass extra-judicial executions of women for perceived transgression of moral codes,' says Mark Lattimer, Ceasefire's Director. 'But they are left free to kill and kill again.' 'Women have been the target of violence in Iraq for many years,' adds report author Miriam Puttick. 'Now, with the rise of ISIS, we are witnessing the renewal of a deliberate and violent campaign to erase women from the public life of the country.' The fighting in Iraq has generated mass population displacement and created tens of thousands of widows and female-headed households, escalating women's vulnerability." -- Minority Rights Group International web site.

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