FEMALE IRAQI MAJOR: "THEY DON'T EVEN SALUTE ME"

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 001326 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2026 TAGS: PGOV KWMN JA SUBJECT: FEMALE IRAQI MAJOR: "THEY DON'T EVEN SALUTE ME" Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) A ND (D). ¶1. (C) On April 11, PolOff met with Major Angham Ahmed from the Iraqi Army Military Police Brigade to discuss the role of women in the Iraqi military. Major Ahmed was one of almost 90 women recruited into the Iraqi military and trained in Jordan during the CPA period. She complained that women in the Iraqi military are not allowed to participate in any operations other than the routine searches conducted at checkpoints. She said that they have not been trained to properly conduct these searches, and do not even know what they are looking for when searching vehicles. She expressed frustration with the lack of opportunity for the full participation of women in military operations, and said that women have "no chance in the Iraqi military." ¶2. (C) Out of the original 88 women recruited, Major Ahmed estimates that less than 30 remain on active military duty. She said that at least one woman in the Iraqi military was assassinated and another kidnapped. Several had sustained serious injuries in the line of duty. The rest, she said, had transferred to civilian jobs ) many within the Ministry of Defense - due to boredom, frustration and threats against their lives. Major Ahmed said that she herself had received written and telephoned threats from various groups including Ansar as-Sunna. She added that almost all new female recruits were hired based on recommendations from MoD officers and staff, and that these women were generally too old and unfit for military service. ¶3. (C) Major Ahmed said that under the previous regime, women were recruited for propaganda purposes but were not allowed to work. She complained that current practices were producing the same results, with "women as decoration to please the Coalition Forces." She claimed that she and some of her female colleagues had applied to the officers program at Rustimiyah, however only men were accepted. She lamented that, at the rank of Major, men "don't even salute me," noting that in a professional army, "even if he doesn't respect me, he must respect the rank!" ¶4. (C) COMMENT AND BIONOTE. Major Angham Ahmed was born in Sulaymaniyah in 1969. Before joining the Iraqi Army, she worked as an analyst for "a Kurdish political party." She is currently studying at the Joint Staff College and will graduate in June. Poloff will seek meetings with other women in the Iraqi military to get a broader sense of their experience and concerns, including whether their accounts of their military service are similar to Major Ahmed's. END COMMENT AND BIONOTE. KHALILZAD