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Senators: Iraqi Women Could Lose Rights
Iraqi women are in danger of losing many of their rights to Islamic law, and the U.S. occupation authority is not doing enough to prevent it, Democratic lawmakers said Monday. Having stood in opposition to the whole plan, theyâll now stand opposed to the consequences. The Iraqi Governing Council in December decided to abolish Saddamâs code and allow each religious group to apply its tradition. The decision has not been approved by U.S. occupation administrator L. Paul Bremer, who wields a veto. The 45 members of the House said Monday in a letter to President Bush that the administration must act now because it will be unable to reverse the councilâs action after the scheduled June 30 transfer of power to Iraqis. "It would be a tragedy beyond words if Iraqi women lost the rights they had under Saddam Hussein, especially when the purpose of our mission in Iraq was to make life better for the Iraqi people," 44 Democrats and one independent wrote to Bush. Yep. So what do you propose to do about it? The letter echoes complaints that occupation authorities already have heard from Iraqi women. In December, about a dozen women wrote Bremer saying the coalition "created these male-dominated councils" and is obligated to "redress this discrimination." The U.S.-led authority has sought to raise womenâs consciousness, sponsoring programs to advise women how to set up small businesses and organizing discussion groups on womenâs issues. Many women still complain the coalition has failed to promote womenâs rights as aggressively as its promises would suggest, and whatever gains they have made will diminish after the U.S.-led coalition transfers sovereignty to a new Iraqi government. So, youâre telling us you want us to stay, right? The lawmakersâ letter to Bush also appeared aimed at countering an op-ed piece in The Washington Post on Sunday in which Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz wrote about U.S. efforts for Iraqi women. Wolfowitz wrote that the United States "is giving special emphasis to helping Iraqi women," having allocated $27 million for womenâs programs and trying to see to it that girls benefit from new education programs in Iraq. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said that in the newspaper piece, Wolfowitz "gushed over efforts to assist women in Iraq, but failed to mention the pending reversal of womenâs rights laws on June 30. I would hope that Mr. Wolfowitz and this administration arenât viewing this situation through rose-colored glasses. There is a womenâs rights crisis on the horizon in Iraq, and we must take action while we still have a say in the matter," Maloney said. So you want us to stay and tell the Iraqis what to do. Isnât that rather different from your partyâs message lately? Posted by: Steve White 2004-02-03 |
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