A Step Backwards for Iraq’s Women

The draft version of Iraq’s constitution is supposed to be complete on August 15, when it will be submitted to the Iraqi National Assembly (their parliament) so they can set the final wording before holding another general election. What is taking shape is not the basis of the Westernized democracy that the US had hoped for. Instead, the drafters of the constitution seem set on making Islamic law (Sharia) the basis of Iraqi law and government. The draft says “Islam is the official religion of the state and is the main source of legislation” and makes it illegal for any law to be passed that conflicts with Islam.

This has Iraq’s women especially worried, because, as reported by the Los Angeles Times:

A draft version of the constitution would make fundamental changes in the legal rights of Iraqi women, undoing decades of progressive treatment and likely sharply reducing the number of women in the National Assembly.

Currently, women hold 31% of the seats in the National Assembly, and under the Transitional Administrative Law that set up the assembly, they must hold at least 25% of the seats.

However, the draft would remove the 25% requirement after two more terms of the assembly, almost certainly resulting in a significant reduction of seats held by women.

It appears as though the rights Iraq’s women enjoyed are being removed. That has Iraqi women’s groups worried, and for good reason: Sharia allows for such procedures as divorcing your wife by stating your intention to do so three times, for example. Women have no such easy recourse, but must instead go through an elaborate process.

The draft constitution would also “permanently grant the Shiite Grand Ayatollah Sistani and future top Shiite religious authorities official authority to help guide the government”, according to Democracy Now, allowing top clerics to overrule secular legislation. This idea shifts the country closer to Iran, a theocracy run by Shi’ite Muslims where clerics hold the real power in the country. Shi’ites also make up the majority of Iraq’s population.

Drop the Q, add an N, great, another Iran. At this rate the US will have to invade the country every 10 or 15 years, just to set ’em straight. Maybe they can just keep the military down there and go back-and-forth across the border between the two countries. Topple a dictator and install a theocratic regime, cross the border, topple a theocratic regime and install a dictator, then rinse and repeat. Great job, GW!