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My uncle received this letter earlier in the month. This seemed like it might be of interest to Democratic Underground members as a way to make a significant and immediate difference to the women of Iraq.
The organization has have a very well constructed web site at www.MADRE.org where you could make any effort to help you are able to.
MADRE
121 West 27th Street, #301
New York, New York 10001
March 1st, 2006
URGENT REQUEST!
Women in Iraq are facing an unprecedented surge in violence. Yanar Mohammed, head of MADRE’s partner organization in Iraq, is working day and night to save as many lives as she can, but she needs our help.
I am writing to you today because MADREs partner, Yanar Mohammed, just phoned from Baghdad with an urgent request. As you may have seen in the news, religious extremists are gaining greater control in Iraq every day. What you probably haven’t heard is the is the violence against women - including “honor” killings – is soaring to horrific levels. Women are being targeted for honor killings by their relatives for “disgracing” their families by daring to make their own choices about whether and whom to marry or for having been abducted or raped.
These brutal crimes aren’t even considered murder under Iraqi law! If a killer can demonstrate “honor” as a motive, his sentence is usually less then one year; and many cases of honor killing are never even reported.
For many women and girls, like Farah, the only alternative to certain death at the hands of their brothers or fathers is to flee…
Farah was only 13 when she was raped. She did not tell anyone, including her mother, until a few months later when she realized she was pregnant. Her mother knew that is Farah’s father found out, he would kill her. She wanted to send Farah off to live with friend in another city very far from their home. But their family, like so many others, is barely scraping by in US-occupied Iraq.
Farah’s mother desperately tried to cobble together money to pay for the six-hour bus trip. She contacted MADRE’s sister organization for help. But before Yanar could pull enough money together, the young girl had disappeared. Her mother still does not know where she is, but she fears the worst.
I want you to know that protecting women from this kind of terror is one of MADRE’s top priorities in Iraq. We cannot stand by and let honor killings continue.
That’s why I urgently need your help today to make sure MADRE can work with our partner, the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), to combat honor killings on two critical fronts. First, we will establish The Underground Railroad for Iraqi Women, providing a network of safe houses, reliable transportation, financial assistance, and emotional support for women undertaking the harrowing escape from honor killings. And, second, we will support Iraqi women as they demand changes in the laws, so that honor killings are legally recognized as murder and severely punished.
I promised Yanar that we would send $50,000 in the next six weeks to help get The Underground Railroad for Iraqi Women up and running. That’s why I hope you’ll take a moment RIGHT NOW to send as generous a tax-deductible gift as you possibly can to MADRE.
Just as enslaved African-Americans relied on a secret network of courageous individuals to help them make their way to freedom, Iraqi women who are threatened with honor killings need allies and an escape route. Women on the run need help with things like bus fare, airplane tickets, or gasoline, which has become scarce since the US invasion.
But that’s only the beginning. They need rent to get started in a new city. Many need medical attention for themselves and their children. They need basics like food and clothing. Plus, we must harness OWFI’s network and contacts to get the word out so that women in jeopardy know they have friends to turn to.
With your support, MADRE’s Underground Railroad for Iraqi Women will help with all these needs. But we cannot do it without you – putting this lifesaving network in place is going to take significant financial resources.
We must not delay in getting The Underground Railroad for Iraqi Women up and running…women in Iraq are desparately in need of this support NOW.
I urge you to send a special, emergency contribution to MADRE to help build The Underground Railroad for Iraqi Women and support all our effort to protect our sisters in war-torn countries. Please be as generous as you possibly can.
Throughout the past three years, you’ve stood with MADRE to help our Iraqi sisters and their families rebuild lives torn apart by war, violence, and religious extremism. I am so grateful for all the support you’ve already shared with us.
But I’m sure you agree that we cannot stop now. We must establish a safe network for women facing honor killings…and we must contribute to support OWFI’s five women’s shelters in Baghdad, Nassariyah, Kirkuk, and Erbil. For everything they’ve been through at the hands of our government, our sisters in Iraq deserve our support.
Please continue to stand with our sisters in Iraq by sending your gift today. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Vivian Stromberg
Executive Director
P.S. Too many Iraqi women, like Farah are trapped. They don’t have the money or support they need to escape the reach of their family imposed death sentence. Please make a generous gift today and help MADRE give them a chance to survive.
P.P.S. Out sisters in OWFI are committed to creating The Underground Railroad for Iraqi Women despite the grave danger they themselves face. Already, several OWFI women have received death threats for daring to speak out against honor killings and for women’s rights. I have given them my assurance that MADRE will stand with them.
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