Iraqi Women Join Police Corps, Defy Patriarchy

While Iraqi women have made global contributions in fields such as medicine, engineering, and the arts, as well as serving as government ministers and members of the military and civil service, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior's agencies – the police, highway patrol, traffic department, and border enforcement, to name a few – did not have any female officers until about a decade ago.

However, that is changing now as more and more women and opting to join the Police Corps, thus defying patriarchy.

Major-General Saad Maan, speaking from his office in central Baghdad, said the interior ministry began pushing women to join the internal security services in 2010, not only because of the benefits they might provide, but also because of the significance of extending women's public role in Iraq.

'The involvement of women has been effective and necessary and reflects the progress and success of the ministry itself,' he explained.

The patriarchal culture in society, which also remains within the ministry, is the most fundamental hurdle women continue to confront as police officers, according to Maan.

'Men in the police force struggle to address female officers using their given titles because of the patriarchy ingrained in them,' said Maan.

Despite this, Maan said there has been overall progress. 'Initially, we begged women to volunteer at the force. Now we receive tens of thousands of applicants every year.'

Women acting as police officers were once restricted to administrative duties, according to Esraa al-Saadi, a 32-year-old officer with the interior ministry's communications and public relations department.

'Now, women do everything and share responsibilities that were formerly reserved for men,' al-Saadi added, alluding to female officers making arrests and participating in interrogations, investigations, and searches.

'Iraqi culture is becoming more open and tolerant of the police as a place for women, too,' Al-Saadi said, adding that she has seen this development first-hand over the past five years of her work.