Thread: Women's Rights In Iraq

The Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) recently issued a frightening report documenting the growing practice of public executions of women by Shia Militia. One of the report's more grisly accounts was a story of a young woman dragged by a wire wound around her neck to a close-by football field and then hung to the goal post. They pierced her body with bullets. Her brother came running trying to defend his sister. He was also shot and killed. Sunni extremists are no better: OWFI members estimate that no less than 30 women are executed monthly for honor related reasons.

Almost four years into the Bush Administration's ill fated adventure in Iraq, Iraqi women are worse off than they were under the Baathist regime in a country where, for decades, the freedoms and rights enjoyed by Iraqi women were the envy of women in most other countries of the Middle East.

Before the U.S. invasion, Iraqi women had high levels of education. Their strong and independent women's movement had successfully forced Saddam's government to pass the groundbreaking 1959 Family Law Act which ensured equal rights in matters of personal law. Iraqi women could inherit land and property; they had equal rights to divorce and custody of their children; they were protected from domestic violence within the marriage. In other words, they had achieved real gains in the struggle for equality between women and men. Iraqi women, like all Iraqis, certainly suffered from the political repression and lack of freedom, but the secular -- albeit brutal -- Baathist regime protected women from the religious extremism that denies freedom to a majority of women in the Arab world.

The invasion of Iraq, however, changed the status of Iraqi women for the worse. Iraq's new colonial power, the United States, elevated a new group of leaders, most of who were allied with ultra conservative Shia clerics. Among the Sunni minority, the quick disappearance of their once dominant political power led to a resurgence of religious identity. Consequently, the Kurds, celebrated for their history of resistance to the Iraqi dictator, were able to reclaim traditions like honor killings, putting thousands of women at risk.

AlterNet: War on Iraq: Iraqi Women's Bodies Are Battlefields for War Vendettas
By Kavita N. Ramdas, Global Fund for Women. Posted December 19, 2006

Not mentioned in the thread, but in the article, is the fact that Iraqi women's right to be treated equally has been overturned. Seems as though the Iraqi constitution "elevated" Islamic law over constitutional rights that deal with personal and family matters.

Hmmm, interesting article.

I'm just surprised that Women were able to gain their rights during Saddam's reign.

Revitalizing Education
As a result of two decades of wars and economic hardship brought on by misrule, Iraqi schools fell into disrepair, enrollment dropped, and literacy levels stagnated. Iraq's adult literacy rate is now one of the lowest in all Arab countries; UNESCO estimates literacy rates to be less than 60 percent, or 6 million illiterate Iraqi adults. Rural residents and women have been hit hardest; only 37 percent of rural women can read, and 30 percent of Iraqi girls of high school age are enrolled in school compared with 42 percent of boys.

USAID and the Ministry of Education are working together to improve access to quality education in Iraq at the primary, secondary, and university levels. Programs have provided essential supplies and training to support schools nationwide. A series of model schools have been established where Iraqi educators implement new and innovative teaching methods while giving students access to improved equipment. USAID also developed partnerships between U.S. and Iraqi universities, which has helped re-equip and revitalize Iraq's higher education system.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2,962 schools have been rehabilitated in full or in part since 2003.
Hundreds of thousands of desks, chairs, cabinets, chalkboards, and more than 3 million school kits have been distributed countrywide.
55,000 teachers and administrators have been trained. By the end of the 2005-06 school year more than 120,000 educators will have received in-service training supported by USAID since 2004.
Eighty-four primary and secondary schools (four in each governorate) are being established to serve as model schools. Teachers will receive specialized training, and schools will be equipped with computer and science laboratories.
An accelerated learning program, targeting 14,000 out-of-school youth, is being implemented during the 2005-2006 school year.
To improve resource management, a comprehensive Education Management Information System is being developed and MOE staff are being trained.
Satellite Internet access and computers were installed at the Ministry of Education and in all 21 Directorates of Education.
More than 8.7 million math and science textbooks have been edited, printed, and distributed throughout Iraq.
Partnerships were established between five American and 10 Iraqi universities. Through these partnerships, more than 1,500 Iraqi faculty and students have participated in workshops, trainings, conferences, and courses in Iraq, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
University facilities, such as libraries, computer and science laboratories, lecture halls, and buildings, have been rehabilitated at colleges of law, engineering, medicine, archeology, and agriculture. In addition, books and electronic resources have been provided to university libraries.

http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/accomplishments/education.html

SUPPORT TO IRAQI WOMEN

Women's rights were formally enshrined in Iraq's 1970 constitution making Iraqi women nominally equal with men. The constitution guaranteed them, the right to vote, hold political office and work outside of the home. Despite officially recognizing women's rights in law, this legislation was frequently not enforced.
By 1990, laws protecting women were repealed. While the enforcement of laws safeguarding women's rights was inconsistent, Iraq's formal acknowledgement and promotion of women's rights resulted in women's active participation in the workforce, education, and political sphere. This, in turn, provides a ready context for renewed support for women's rights and their increased participation throughout society.
ECONOMIC GROWTH: Programs support Iraqi women as entrepreneurs, employees, business leaders, and professionals. Nearly 60 percent of USAID's small business grants administered have been awarded to women. Female Central Bank officers were trained in best practices for accounting, banking, and oversight and, as a result, are in a stronger position to guide bank reform. An economic growth program recently initiated business development outreach with an umbrella group of women's organizations to help women-led businesses/business groups access to grants, technical assistance and other services offered by USAID.
DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE: USAID's support to civil society includes training and capacity building for women's organization so that they can engage in public debates about the continuing evolution of the role of women in Iraqi society. USAID provided a $500,000 grant to the Rafadin Women's Coalition comprised of more than 30 women's organizations to launch conferences, leaflet distribution, media and television spots promoting women's rights in a constitutional democracy. This and other assistance helped to get 68 women elected to the new Iraq National Assembly in January 2005.
At the local level, USAID helped to increase female provincial council participation by 25% and has set similar targets for helping to get women elected during the 2006 provincial elections. USAID's Community Action Program supports initiatives that address the immediate needs of Iraqi women. Of the 4,000 completed projects, 500 projects directly benefited women with another one-third in-directly benefiting women.
EDUCATION: USAID's education programs are increasing the enrollment of girls in school, thus reducing the substantial gender gap in primary school enrolment, and increasing girl's literacy in rural areas. USAID's accelerated learning program condenses six years of primary school into three years, giving girls the opportunity to receive a primary school education. Girls learn life skills and gain the academic background necessary to return to formal schooling. USAID is also rehabilitating the water and sanitation facilities at 800 primary schools throughout Iraq, and improving female teachers and administrators through training programs that will reach about 75,000 women by the end of 2005-2006 school year.
AGRICULTURE: USAID is training women and men in improved crop and livestock production technologies, market development, financial management, business planning and rural credit, and improved resource management

http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/wrd/iraq


Women's Status in the Post-Gulf War Years
In the years following the 1991 Gulf War, many of the positive steps that had been taken to advance women's and girls' status in Iraqi society were reversed due to a combination of legal, economic, and political factors.22 The most significant political factor was Saddam Hussein's decision to embrace Islamic and tribal traditions as a political tool in order to consolidate power. In addition, the U.N. sanctions imposed after the war have had a disproportionate impact on women and children (especially girls).23 For example, the gender gap in school enrollment (and subsequently female illiteracy) increased dramatically due to families' financial inability to send their children to school. When faced with limited resources, many families chose to keep their girl children at home.24 According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as a result of the national literacy campaign, as of 1987 approximately 75 percent of Iraqi women were literate; however, by year-end 2000, Iraq had the lowest regional adult literacy levels, with the percentage of literate women at less than 25 percent.25
Women and girls have also suffered from increasing restrictions on their freedom of mobility and protections under the law. In collusion with conservative religious groups and tribal leaders, the government issued numerous decrees and introduced legislation negatively impacting women's legal status in the labor code, criminal justice system, and personal status laws.27 In 2001, the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Violence against Women reported that since the passage of the reforms in 1991, an estimated 4,000 women and girls had been victims of "honor killings."28 In recent years, both the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) administrations in northern Iraq issued decrees suspending laws allowing for mitigation of sentences in honor crimes, but the degree to which the suspension has been implemented is unknown.29

Furthermore, as the economy constricted, in an effort to ensure employment for men the government pushed women out of the labor force and into more traditional roles in the home. In 1998, the government reportedly dismissed all females working as secretaries in governmental agencies.30 In June 2000, it also reportedly enacted a law requiring all state ministries to put restrictions on women working outside the home.31 Women's freedom to travel abroad was also legally restricted and formerly co-educational high schools were required by law to provide single-sex education only, further reflecting the reversion to religious and tribal traditions.32 As a result of these combined forces, by the last years of Saddam Hussein's government the majority of women and girls had been relegated to traditional roles within the home.

It seems bizarre to me that we impose sanctions that cost untold children's lives, we completely destroy the infrastructure, (clean water, electric,sewer systems etc) We "shock and awe" these people until they quiver in fear. (this, we are told, to oust one man and his circle of idiots) We set up a little america in the middle of this formally sovereign nation complete with a Mickey d's And Then some folks want us to think of our policy as one of philanthopy. Really warms the cockles.

So not only are their rights illusory and hard to keep, they probably will be shot dead trying to go to the market.

We've turned the corner!

Dont forget the new bars open up and the desturction of the middle eastern morals? Get your mc donalds liquer and coke here! By the way dont know why the muslims are killing women when Muhammid said, "Who is best to his wife is the best with allah" and other quotes. Islam gave many woman rights so wtf are they doing with this damn culture shit!

p.s Traditional rolls are bad why? Women ive asked hate their jobs and would rather have a nice caring husband take care of the money while they make food and play with their children.

Originally Posted by AhabtheArab

Dont forget the new bars open up and the desturction of the middle eastern morals? Get your mc donalds liquer and coke here! By the way dont know why the muslims are killing women when Muhammid said, "Who is best to his wife is the best with allah" and other quotes. Islam gave many woman rights so wtf are they doing with this damn culture shit!

p.s Traditional rolls are bad why? Women ive asked hate their jobs and would rather have a nice caring husband take care of the money while they make food and play with their children.

I can't wait until you get out and actually live life.

Originally Posted by namvet69

It seems bizarre to me that we impose sanctions that cost untold children's lives, we completely destroy the infrastructure, (clean water, electric,sewer systems etc) We "shock and awe" these people until they quiver in fear. (this, we are told, to oust one man and his circle of idiots) We set up a little america in the middle of this formally sovereign nation complete with a Mickey d's And Then some folks want us to think of our policy as one of philanthopy. Really warms the cockles.

During Sadams reign 3/4 of the country had electricity only for a coupl of hours of the day. He let the infastructure decay himself. After the US invasion there was interruption of electrical service. But pretty quickly the generation was doubled over what Sadam was producing. Clean water has been added to many regions that did not have it in the past at all. This is all propaganda that America has made the infustructure worse. It is now quite the opposite.