UN and domestic violence in Iraq: when the White Man Cares, the White Man lies

Yesterday, I post this. And I was quite suspicious not only because I am naturally suspicious of Western agencies when it comes to women in the Middle East but because the language raised my alarm. I basically did not believe that "the vast majority" of Iraqi women are victims of domestic violence. Of course, the report was circulated in newspapers around the world and around the internet. I asked my readers to send me the full text of the report and several did (thanks Luay, Saeed, and Michele) send it to me. So what did I find? Well, my suspicions were founded. First, I do follow studies of domestic violence and I am aware that we have one of the highest rates of domestic violence here in the US where 23 women are killed EVERY WEEK by a boyfriend or husband. And I know that studies of domestic violence in the Arab world don't indicate that they have worse rates than here. The only comprehensive study ever conducted in an Arab country (and by a UN agency) was conducted in Syria and it showed rates similar to those in the US. It has been around 30% of all women are victims of domestic violence, although many believe that the rates here in the US may be much higher (see the studies that Catherine MacKinnion cites in her book Feminism Unmodified). So this study of Iraq which was publicized internationally said the following: "13 According to a survey published by the UN Information and Analysis Unit (IAU), 83.1% of Iraqi women are victims of marital control behaviour; 33.4% of survey group reported at least one form of emotional or psychological violence; 21.2% of Iraqi women are victims of domestic physical violence." The person who did the study either needs to resign or need to be fired. There was a deliberate attempt in this report to inflate the figures for victims of domestic violence. You read this and you learn that the rate of domestic violence in Iraq is actually 21.2%: quite high but quite smaller than the rate here in the US where one third of all women are victims of domestic violence. But the UN was not satisfied and wanted to make things worse than they are so they decided to expand the category to include "victims of marital control behavior." Now what the fuck is that? And we can safely say that the vast majority of all women around the world are in fact victims of "marital control behavior". You should be very critical and skeptical when you encounter "studies" by Western agencies of the status of women in the Arab world. You need to consult real books and real studies by real experts. I have been reading, for example, for a review Judith Tucker's Women, Family, and Gender in Islamic Law. This is a book that I recommend unlike the junk that is out there on the subject.