Iraqi women push for cafes of their own
Iraqi women have started opening women-only cafes and restaurants where they can just avoid harassment.
As all-women cafes mushroom in Baghdad and the rest of Iraq, women’s views are divided whether these are pockets of freedom from sexual harassment or the embodiment of segregation.
“It is important for us to sit at ease in a calm place, away from the guys’ [unwelcome] looks and indirect harassment. I am pleased that I can frequently visit such a cafe,” Zahraa Saad, one of the patrons of Viola Cafe in Baghdad, told Al-Monitor.
