Link Between Sex and Electricity In Iraq

When you first think of a possible connection between two completely separate topics, sex and electricity, the answer for Western couples would be quite simple - the less electricity you have, the more sex it means, as couples abandon watching television to share a warm bed. But for couples in Iraq, it's rather quite the opposite.

You see, making love for much of Iraq's Muslim population not only requires a willing partner but also a sure supply of water, which needs to be hot in the winter, to allow for a shower afterwards before going to pray.

No hot water means no hot shower and therefore prayers, which take place five times a day for devout Muslims, can be a problem. Hence unless you are ready to take a cold dip, especially in the winter months, the couple avoids sex.

"I have less sex than I want because there is no hot water to wash with afterwards", moaned Hadi, 25, a young Baghdad local who has only been married for two weeks. He says the problem is not a lack of desire but of electrical power.

"Sometimes, when we are in the middle of making love the electricity turns off so we have to stop. I get out of bed to put a generator on and then we have to wait for the water to heat up", he said.

On the evening of the Eid Al-Adha (Muslim feast of the sacrifice), Hadi had hoped for a night of romance. "Unfortunately, the electricity cut out from 5 pm until 11 pm. There was nothing for us to do other than sit and look at each other. I did not get married just to have conversation", he said.

Another man went as far as wanting to bribe an official from the local grid to keep the power flowing on his wedding night, until he realised it would be cheaper to book a night in a hotel.

Major hotels are one of the few places to secure a constant supply of energy for their guests with Baghdad and much of central Iraq is suffering its worst ever electricity shortage, with the power on for just two to six hours per day in the capital.

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