Undermining Women: Draft of Iraqi Constitution Falls Short on Women’s Rights

Women senators in the United States and women’s groups in Iraq are protesting the new Iraqi constitution, which they say threatens to severely limit Iraqi women’s rights.

Drafts of the new constitution are currently being reviewed by the Iraqi National Assembly, and a final draft will be approved by August 15, 2005 and ratified by October 15, 2005.

Activists in both Iraq and the United States say that drafts of the new constitution offer fewer women’s rights than does the interim constitution, known as the Temporary Administrative Law.

Women and families

Drafts of the new constitution place family law, which covers marriage, divorce, and inheritance, under religious courts’ jurisdiction. This means that a family’s religious sect would determine the law to be applied in each case, and restrictive sects may deny divorce and inheritance rights altogether.

For women to be truly equal, they must have a say in family decisions. Denying women these rights could keep them in abusive marriages and threaten their financial security.

As long as

The draft constitution acknowledges equal rights for women in all fields as long as those rights don’t contradict with sharia law or, Islamic law.

The constitution clearly establishes Iraq as a Muslim country; the draft says sharia law is the "main source" of law. While the separation of church and state is not a prerequisite for democracy, this language leaves women’s rights exposed to extremist interpretations of Islam.

Women in government

Women senators are particularly concerned about the elimination of a provision that requires 25 percent of National Assembly seats to go to women. The Temporary Administrative Law includes this condition, and women currently make up 31 percent of the National Assembly.

Without such a quota, women’s participation in the Iraqi government may begin to disappear, writes the bipartisan group of women senators. In their concerned letter to President Bush, they say, "We strongly believe that Iraqi women must have every opportunity to participate in all levels of Iraqi government so that they can ensure that any laws passed by the Iraqi government will not take away their rights or relegate them to second-tier status."

In countries where quota systems are in place, more women participate in government. Nordic countries have the highest numbers of women’s participation in government, and Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway all have quotas that set a minimum percentage of women’s representation. South Africa, India, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Belgium and France have quota systems as well, as does much of Latin America.

The United States ranks 60th in the world in terms of women's representation in national legislatures or parliaments out of over 180 directly electing countries.

Women Senators write Bush

Eleven women senators are pleading with President Bush to ensure equal rights in Iraq. The group includes all nine Democratic women in the Senate and two out of five Republican women senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine.

They write, "To dilute or delete any language that establishes the principle of equality before the law, regardless of gender, would greatly hurt women in Iraq, especially those who are helping to rebuild this country in the post-Saddam era," the letter says, "These women should not be denied their rightful place in society by those who do not believe women’s rights are human rights."

At issue is the possibility of women in Iraq having fewer rights than they did under Saddam Hussein. Hussein’s regime granted women basic human rights, but today, Iraqi women are afraid to leave their homes. Women in the insurgent-ravaged country are more likely to be attacked or raped and there is no recourse for the victims. A constitution that further defers women’s rights could worsen the situation for women in Iraq.

Is the United States responsible for ensuring that Iraqi women are granted equal rights? Do you think the United States could benefit from a quota system? Was it worth deposing Hussein if women in Iraq are left with fewer rights than they had when he was in power?

What do you think?

WomenMatter is a place to discuss life issues with other women. We don’t want to wedge women apart, but rather bring them together to dialogue. To participate in our blog, click here.

WomenMatter encourages women to educate themselves on the issues and then approach their representatives with ideas.

Even though the election is over, your voice is vital. Make sure your leaders know what’s important to you. To see how your representatives vote and to contact them, click here.

WomenMatter is dedicated to empowering women to participate in the political process. To do this we have invested in the most in-depth NONPARTISAN information, because we trust each woman to make up her own mind.

• We track nine issues every week and update this website several times a week.
• We launch after school GirlsMatter Clubs in middle and high schools to grow the next generation of politically aware women through a full curriculum and startup kit on girlsmatter.com.
• We do continuous research to make sure that we are meeting the needs of women across the country of all ages, races, incomes, preferences, and religions.
• We provide partnerships with nonpartisan organizations that provide services to women and advocate for them.

We offer all our services free of charge without memberships or subscriptions. To help us maintain this work - not just in election years but as a continuing part of women’s lives - please make a tax deductible donation, click here.

Update Posted on: 8/6/2005