War forces Iraqi mom into prostitution

Wedad is a helpless woman living in Irag. She was widowed a few years ago when her husband was killed in war violence. She tried to get work but the men didn't want her for ther skills; they wanted her for her body. Wedad soon found that the only way to make money was to illegally become a prostitute. This decision in no way was easy for her. Yanar Mohammad, an Iraqi women's rights activist, estimates that there are thousands of women living as prostitiutes in Iraq. A typical sentence for women caught of illegally selling their body is three to four months in jail, and their clients are rarely ever arrested. Prostitution is a serious situation that scars women. Wedad has no outside support and finds this to be her only way to support her two daughters. She realizes that soon she will have to find a new way to make money. Her daughters are young now, but they are getting older and more suspicious. Wedad shares that the only way to get passed the mental pain of what she does is to give herself to her clients like a "dead body".

I find it extremely sad to hear about such a thing going on in Iraq. Prostitution in no way is a good thing and women are making a living like this. It makes me wonder if us as Americans are to blame at all for we intruded their country and began killing people. Have we killed so many husbands that the prostitution rate is increasing? I feel as though the war has a large effect on what is happening over in Iraq and the culture that is turning out. Aside from the war, prostitution seems to be a very typical job in Iraq. What is going on in the country that makes this illegal activity so popular? Women need help to find a better way of income than selling their bodies. I also wonder how many women are actually forced into prostitution rather than it being an idividual decision. I highly support Yanar Mohammad and her efforts to reduce female prostitution in Iraq to better the culture. I believe Iraq has a large and growing problem that more attention and help can take care of.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/11/02/iraq.prostitute/index.html?eref=rss_topstories