Trapped in a country where she knew no one, Hiba had no choice but to put her trust in the man who had bought her. He, however, turned out to be a monster. Over the next two years he forced her into prostitution. He brought male clients to her and then took her to a Damascus club where she was taught to belly dance provocatively to attract customers. When she became pregnant, her captor abandoned her on the streets from where she was eventually rescued by local social workers and put into the Damascus Rehabilitation Centre for Minors.
It was here that Hiba felt safe for the first time in years. "When I first arrived, I was terrified at the thought of what was going to happen to me next," she says. "Soon, I was reassured by the presence of other girls like me. We became sisters and they replaced my family. I also realised I was not an isolated case. A lot of girls need help and assistance."
Protection officers of the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, say that in many asylum countries, an increasing number of Iraqi women and girls are being forced into sex work against their will, or are turning to it in desperation for economic reasons. According to Aseer Al Madaien, UNHCR Protection Officer in Damascus, the refugee agency works hard to find women like Hiba who are being exploited. "With the support of Syrian institutions, we are constantly trying to increase our efforts in terms of prevention," he explains.
http://newageislam.com/syria--iraqi-women-search-for-new-lives/islam,-women-and-feminism/d/1807
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5:37 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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