What better motivation for “pious” behavior could there be than the threat of bodily harm? Then again, perhaps that’s what being “victorious with terror” is all about. From Al-Jazeera: “Attacks on women soar in Mosul”
A recent spike in attacks on women has forced many in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to retreat into their homes or resort to armed escort by relatives and tribal guards.
It seems likely that women going out unescorted would also be an issue here.
In recent weeks, Mosul residents have witnessed an unprecedented rise in the number of female corpses found throughout the city.
[…]
The increase in attacks on women has also been accompanied by a proportional increase in threats against clothiers and boutique shop owners, security officials have said.
In the Sarj Khanah district in Mosul, where many western fashion boutiques are located, shop owners have found threatening flyers and messages left on their doors.
One such flyer condemned “sacrilegious” clothing which it claimed corrupted young women with revealing clothes baring their shoulders and knees and called on all mannequins to be covered with proper Islamic garb.
The flyers included verses from the Quran as well as hadith (oral traditions of the Prophet Muhammed) followed by threats and a promise of death.
Abu Faris, a father of four girls and one boy, said he would not take any chances and have his daughters don the head covering veil as soon as they hit 10 years of age.
He said: “Mays, my oldest, is 14 and she has been veiled since she was about 12.
“Women who are not veiled risk attracting attention of some of the killers here.”