
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 1, 1991                   TAG: 9102010480
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

IRAQ PREDICTED TO TREAT WOMEN POWS GENTLER

If an American woman soldier has been captured by Iraq, she is likely to be treated less harshly than her male POW comrades, Mideast experts said Thursday.

Dealing roughly with women prisoners would violate ancient Islamic strictures as well as spawn global outrage in a war watched worldwide on TV, several explained. Leniency, on the other hand, could be used for propaganda by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, they predicted.

"Women are likely to end up with a softer treatment than men, particularly officers, would face," said Andrew Whitley of Middle East Watch, an international organization that monitors human rights violations in the region.

The issue arose Thursday after Baghdad radio claimed Iraq had captured "a number of male and female U.S. conscripts." While not confirming the report, U.S. military spokesmen said a woman was among two support-group soldiers missing in action near combat in Saudi Arabia. Their vehicle was found, but their weapons were gone, and there was no sign that they had been injured.

Baghdad Radio said the alleged women prisoners "will be given good treatment in accordance with the spirit of lofty Islamic laws."

There are centuries-old written rules for conducting an Islamic holy war, said Peter Heath of the Center for the Study of Islamic Societies and Civilization at the Washington University of St. Louis. These include kind treatment for women, children, and the old and sick.

"It would be unusually shameful for any woman, regardless of nationality, to be mistreated or humiliated," said Salih Altoma, an Iraqi native and chairman of Near Eastern languages at Indiana University. "This would be true both in terms of Islam and in terms of Arab values."

However, in the male-dominated Mideast, the rules of holy war hardly contemplate that females will be involved in the actual fighting.

"In Islamic tradition, you don't have women warriors," said Shireen Hunter, a professor at Georgetown University. "But in their culture, there is certainly no honor in mistreating a woman. It's a sexist society, women are considered weak."

Within the Islamic world, Saddam Hussein might gain a propaganda advantage by showing a woman captive but treating her well, said Heath. "He could say `look how desperate - or even crazy - the Western forces are to use women soldiers,' " said Heath.

There are reasons for concern, however. Amnesty International reported widespread accounts of Iraqi soldiers raping women of various nationalities after taking over Kuwait. These abuses would violate the laws of Islam.

by CNB