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NEWS & LETTERS, JULY 2003
Iraqi woman speaks
Below we print excerpts from an International Women’s
Day talk by Yanar Mohammed, a founder of Defense of Iraqi Women’s Rights (DIWR),
whose mission is to better the lives of Iraqi women and involve them in the
debate over the future of Iraq. In the Middle East, the situation in Iraq is thought of
as one of modernity. During the 1950s and ‘60s, progressive movements were
very active in the streets. When I say “progressive,” these are communist
movements that believe in equality of men and women. They set up a social
profile for women that changed their lives.... At the end of the 1950s 45,000
women in Iraq were organized within the Women’s League.... In 1958, 45,000 women demonstrated in the streets and
asked for their civil rights. They were able to pressure the government to make
some amendments to the civil laws, for example, inheritance, where under Islamic
Shari’a women get half what it gives a man. There are many rules in Shari’a
that women demonstrated against, and were able to change.... Unfortunately, in 1963 the Ba'ath regime came to power,
which led the way to Saddam’s Ba'ath regime--the Arab Nationalist Party--and
to dictatorship. It was brought to power by U.S. support, so as to crush
progressive movements, mainly communism.... All the achievements I told you
about were cancelled.... In spite of all the blows the Iraqi people received,
still Iraqi women are considered to be a symbol of modernity. They are educated:
40% of the labor force in the public sector were women. I bring this up to
answer the number one myth that is spread in the Western world: that Iraq is a
Muslim society where women’s rights are unachievable because they contradict
the Muslim tradition. All mentioned above and the history of our protests give
the full answer to that.... There was a campaign for Islamization of Iraq, which
Saddam decided to go into in the '90s. We think religion is personal, and there
should be freedom of religion, including atheism. But when religion is used to
chop off women’s heads, when it turns into political parties that try to reach
power and keep half the population oppressed--that is what we are against.... In 2000 there was mass organized killing of women that
targeted 200 women in Baghdad and Mosul. The General Union for Women of Iraq--a
government organization controlled by the Ba'ath Party--was asked to present a
list of “honorless” women to the government. In other words, prostitutes who
had no choice but to sell their bodies in order to feed their children. The
Ba'ath party went to the houses of these women and beheaded them. They made them
naked, and hung them upside down in front of their houses as an example that
these honorless women are against Islam. In the 1990s in northern Iraq, 5,000 women died because
of honor killings organized by the ruling Kurdish parties. My friend tells me
that in her city authorities knock on the doors; they ask this family and that
family and tell them they have to kill their daughters, because they are
honorless, because they are having affairs, relationships. Even falling in love
is enough reason for a woman to be killed. Our vision is that women should not bend down under the
burden of religion, nationalism, tribalism, and political Islam. We are
beginning to organize, starting from the north where we can function better, and
we will spread to the south and the center. No one can decide a future for Iraq
that women will not have. For us, it is full equality, a secular government, it
is a socialist government. That’s what we are working for. All your support is very much needed for our shelter in
Iraq. Every dollar that you provide will be going for a woman who is in
desperate need. Yanar Mohammed and DIWR can be reached at: 5 Sunny Glenway, Unit 115, Toronto, ON, Canada M3C 2Z5. Telefax: (416) 724-7104, Email: yanar2002@hotmail.com |
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