Article #1: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1883696,00.html?iid=tsmodule
Article #2: http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/06/24/prostitutes/index.html
The first article describes how increasingly more women/girls entered prostitution following the break down of Saddam Hussein's regime. Few statistics about these girls are known because it is a socially taboo subject. There is also an ongoing controversy about the role sex traffickers play in the region: one Iraqi ex-politician, when asked about trafficking, believed that girls (for the most part) chose to engage in the activity. Yanar Mohammed, who heads the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq, fervently disagrees.
The second article focuses more on the tragedy that women must turn to prostitution for survival. Regarding trafficking, the article states: "according to the report (U.S. State Department's 2005 "Trafficking in Persons Report), "There have been some reports that indicate Iraqi women may be subjected to sexual exploitation in prostitution in Syria at the hands of Iraqi criminal networks, but those reports have not been confirmed."
To contrast the ambivalence of the report's statement, Article #1 featured a lady with a first hand account of the activity. At this point, I began to feel that the issue of sex trafficking in Iraq was curiously suppressed. There is no doubt of some trafficking activity going on, but the Iraqi government has not yet prosecuted any traffickers since it has gotten into power (at the time of Article #1, Mar. 2009).
It is agreed that prostitution is an issue within the region. However, involuntary prostitution seems to be a hush-hush topic. There is no doubt of its occurrence: mothers are selling unwilling daughters to brothels; the first article reported a story about a girl who was married to a man, who promptly divorced her and gave her to a prostitution ring. I wondered if the reason for it being a hush-hush topic is the lack of information. I wondered if part of the in-action may be due to pride; perhaps it is less weight on a conscience to blame a girl for her individual "choice" than acknowledging that more individuals, besides the girl, were involved. I wouldn't know; these are speculations.
Or is there a lack of information because it is hush-hush? If no one wants to talk about an issue, there won't be any information about it. It is possible that if a state/government/organization/etc admits a problem (such as human trafficking in general?, they would have to admit that the problem is more widespread than if the girl is blamed for her "choice." Similarly, if women are forced (or choose) this kind of work, it indicates there is a demand for it, which itself has significant cultural implications. The cycle of silence repeats itself.
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