Iraqi Women's Center

From CS Monitor comes the touching story of an Iraqi Women's Center: bq. For their new women's center, the women of Karbala chose the name of a warrior: Zainab al-Hawraa. Sister of the Shiite martyr Imam Hussein, Zainab fought alongside him in 680, saving his young son and his legacy for future generations. bq. When Fern Holland heard the story, she laughed and told the women, "We want all Iraqi women to be just like her." Sadly, Ms. Holland was killed: bq. March 9, after visiting the center, Holland and her deputy, Salwa Ourmashi, and coalition press officer Robert Zangas were killed, their car forced off the road and machine-gunned. Investigators arrested six suspects, four with valid Iraqi police ID. And more: bq. Over the past few months, Iraqi women in public roles, especially those who work with Americans or in promoting women's rights, have increasingly become targets of death threats and assassination attempts. bq. Many large international aid groups, including most of those with women's programs, have already withdrawn international staff because of attacks against aid workers. Now the few remaining women's groups fear they will be next. bq. "We are all targets, women and Americans alike," says Yanar Mohammed, a newspaper editor and outspoken feminist. "There are many women activists, but they cannot speak boldly against political Islam." This is typical of the evil we are dealing with. We need to stand firm and win this one. If these pigs, these monkeys, these scum gain a foothold in Iraq, it will be worse, far far worse for peace.