http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/7/274F6C55-276C-475C-BDD9-3A5BBC644EE8.html
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excerpt:
Iraq: Female Police Officers Challenge Themselves And Society
By Valentinas Mite
Baghdad, 8 July 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Twenty-four-year-old Hajear and her sister Sarah, 26, are police officers in Iraq. They say they want to serve as role models for other Iraqi women who are used to working modestly in the home.
Hajear and Sarah arrived at the Al-Khadra police station in northern Baghdad just five days ago, after finishing a two-month training course. They wear blue Iraqi police uniforms and carry guns. Their faces are not covered, but they do wear Muslim head scarves. The sisters constantly smile and laugh. They are two of some 300 women serving on the Baghdad police force.
Hajear says her family was always liberal, opposed Saddam Hussein's regime, and encouraged her and Sarah to pursue their dreams of becoming police officers. Now, however, when danger seems to lurk around every corner, the family is afraid for the sisters' lives.
"My family encouraged me to be a police officer and to be an example of an Iraqi woman as a policewoman,” Hajear says. “They are afraid when I leave home and come back, but I was trained how to protect myself. I am not afraid."
Sarah also says she is not afraid of being killed in the line of duty. She says everyone has his or her own destiny and should meet it without fear. She says she does not plan to die but is ready to fight and continue with her career. One day, she says, she hopes to become a police chief."With God's help, we are police officers. Maybe in the future, I will be president." -- Sarah, 26 years old
"I would like to be a director of a police station or something higher in the police force,” Sarah says. “I love this field of activity. I like this kind of danger. I love to be a responsible person and fight crime."
Sarah says she is ready to challenge a society run by men, to prove that women are equals.
"Women had pressure on them, and [men] would never let [a woman] serve in the police. Now, we have [female government] ministers. With God's help, we are police officers. Maybe in the future, I will be president," Sarah says.
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Hat tip to Cpt Patti
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