Finding a path back to Iraq, and toward securing women’s freedom
YANAR MOHAMMED runs a secret network of safe houses in her native Iraq. The women who come through its doors are honor-killing runaways, rape survivors, war widows and assorted others who have been to the cliff edge of hell and back. The shelters are meant to give them a second chance in life. Running the shelters […]Somini Sengupta writes for the new York Times :
YANAR MOHAMMED runs a secret network of safe houses in her native Iraq. The women who come through its doors are honor-killing runaways, rape survivors, war widows and assorted others who have been to the cliff edge of hell and back.
The shelters are meant to give them a second chance in life. Running the shelters gave her a second chance, too. Ms. Mohammed left Iraq more than 20 years ago with her husband and their young son, and she tried for several years to settle into a life of quiet and comfort in Toronto. Exile did not settle well with her, however. “Have you ever been kicked out of your house?” she said in a recent interview. “Do you know what that feels like? You try one way or the other to get your place back.”
