Iraqi Policewomen Ordered To Turn In Guns

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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/11/the_skinny/main3605610.shtml?source=mostpop_story

Just in case there's anyone out there still unsure about the whether nation-building is a bad idea, the Los Angeles Times brings a gem of a story about how you can lead an Iraqi horse to the water of equal-opportunity employment, but you just can't make him drink. Not even when your country is paying the water bill.

The Iraqi government has ordered all policewomen to hand in their guns for redistribution to men or face having their pay withheld, the Times reports. The move thwarts a U.S. initiative to bring women into the nation's police force.

The Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, issued the order late last month, according to ministry documents, U.S. officials and several of the women. Probably sensing this was going to tick off the Americans, ministry officials refused to pick up the phone or return messages when Times reporter Tina Susman called asking for an explanation.

Critics say the move is the latest sign of the religious and cultural conservatism that has taken hold in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein ushered in a government dominated by Shiite Muslims. Other recent signs include a dozen women killed by religious militants in Basra for not covering their hair or dressing modestly. In Baghdad, once a secular metropolis, it is rare to see women without scarves covering their hair.

U.S. trainers began recruiting women in early 2004 and were so swamped with applicants they had to turn many away. By the end of that year, about 1,000 women had graduated. Since U.S. authorities handed over responsibility for police recruitment and training to Iraqi authorities in February 2006, the number of female recruits has dropped to virtually zero.