Social media in Iraq has been buzzing with the circulation of "shameful" video clips and photos showing the dean of a college at the University of Basra in compromising positions with a student inside his office. This has uncovered incidents of blackmail of female students and abuse of power, according to sources. Activists shared images of the dean, identified as Imad Al-Shawi, the dean of the College of Computer Science and Information Technology at the University of Basra.
The Ministry of Higher Education decided to suspend Dean Imad Al-Shawi and immediately refer him for investigation following allegations that he set up secret cameras to film female students in his private office and exploited his position for unethical practices.
Activists confirmed that previous pictures of the dean in his office correlated with the leaked footage. In response, the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education stated that they had taken measures to "suspend" the dean, who is accused of harassing students and filming them in one of the universities in Basra.
Ministry spokesperson Haidar Al-Aboudi mentioned that the ministry "took legal action against the dean after scenes of his harassment of students spread on social media," adding that "the first step is to suspend the individual in question." He continued that a ministerial committee was formed to conduct the investigation, noting that "this committee has its procedures for verification and will announce its decision upon completing the legal processes." Al-Aboudi emphasized that "necessary actions will be taken according to the State Employee Discipline Law once the investigations are completed."
There are reports that the dean and several faculty members are blackmailing students, bargaining with them for grades that would qualify them for their college degrees, including one student who appeared in the leaked clip. Sources indicated that "the dean filmed her, sent her the video, and threatened to publish it if she refused to come to his office again, which forced her to hide her identity and send the video to one of the social media pages." The page subsequently published the footage and sent a copy to the Ministry of Higher Education.
It is noteworthy that incidents of sexual harassment in Iraq are on the rise, according to reports from research centers. A 2022 report from the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights revealed "terrifying" cases of harassment in hospitals, universities, and Iraqi media, where women were coerced with "sex" in exchange for treatment, education, and employment.
