This is a remarkable and progressive step for women and security efforts in post-war Iraq . Interestingly, under Saddam Hussein, women were accorded the same opportunities in education and professions as were men. Through an unidentified security firm, these women are provide with training for a much needed career, both in the country to encourage the economy and for women to encourage gender parity in general. This particular job puts the women involved on equal footing as their male counterparts, a highly unlikely scenario in most Muslim Middle Eastern nations. “We train them all together, women and men. They are treated as equals,” said the owner. However, if a mobile, protective detail is not fully and well trained on countering an ambush or thwarting a kidnapping, the protectee is likely to die.

The proliferation of weapons, particularly the AK-47 ? in Iraq stems from Saddam Hussein’s rule, when all high school students were taught how to handle these weapons. Other than that orientation, the women generally come with no other experience or training for such endeavors. In the end, “The training of our female personal security detail is much better than most male Iraqi [personal security details] and guards,” said the owner. They reportedly have patrolled Baghdad, Mosul, and into the powder keg of Anbar province.