Thousands of Women in Iraq Being Detained and Abused

According to report from Human Rights Watch

Thousands of women in Iraq are being illegally detained and many subjected to torture and abuse, Human Rights Watch said Thursday in a scathing report on the Iraqi justice system.

The U.S.-based rights group said corruption and convictions based on coerced confessions plague the judicial system, despite pledges of reform, and it called on Iraqi authorities to investigate the abuse and make urgent fixes. The report notes that militants cite the abuse of women as justification for their attacks and that protesters have made the release of detained women a primary demand.