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Iraq-Jordan
Survey: Iraqis Support Women's Rights
2005-08-15
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A survey conducted by Iraq's constitutional drafting committee showed that the majority of those responding supported full rights for women - as long as the freedoms are in accordance with Islam.
I'm not sure that makes sense ...
The survey released Sunday was conducted by a subcommittee of Iraq's constitutional committee that is drafting a new charter for the country. Though not designed with random sampling as are leading U.S. polls, the survey nonetheless was an attempt by the group to gauge public opinion in Iraq's chaotic environment on key topics in the charter. Over 156,000 people submitted responses to a multiple-choice questionnaire that was distributed across the country. Participants turned the forms into some 1,000 boxes across the country, according to Adnan Mohammed Hassan, head of the committee that directed the survey.

Several international polling agencies have measured Iraqi public opinion, but this survey is the first known government survey conducted since the country's new leaders were elected on Jan. 30.

On the topic of women's rights, 12 percent of respondents said women should have the same rights as men. Some secular-minded women fear a loss of rights if conservative clerics heavily influence the new constitution. Fifty-five percent said they favored a decentralized form of government, while 26 percent said they wanted a central government with a full powers.

The question of how much power to grant to local governments has been a contentious subject among the country's leaders. On Tuesday a top Shiite leader said he supported an autonomous region in the south for Shiites, but Sunni Arabs objected to the proposal's inclusion in the constitution, arguing that it would lead to the division of the country.

On the subject of the role of religion in the government, 28 percent said they want Islam to be the main source of legislation, while 25 percent said it should be the only source. The seemingly small difference in language has been negotiated on for days by the country's leaders, some who insist that the charter be entirely rooted in religious law.

On their preferred system of government, 55 percent said they prefer a parliamentarian system of rule, while 20 percent said they want to elect leaders directly through a presidential system. Eleven percent also said they want the constitution to bar senior members of Saddam Hussein's government from government posts.
Posted by:Steve White

#2  when Henry the 8th took over the church in england, the clergy voted to accept him as head "as far as the law of Christ allows" Hemming and hawing is ALWAYS what people do when radical change threatans. Clearly Iraqis want to move in the direction of rights for women - they reject Taliban style gender apartheid. But, OTOH, theyre NOT willing to say that womens equality trumps Islamic law. The rubber hits on the road on several specific areas of Islamic law, notably divorce, inheritance, etc. There is SOME variety among the different schools of Islamic law, and different interpretations within them, IIUC. So theres a lot of room for play, which we will see.
Posted by: liberalhawk   2005-08-15 09:50  

#1  It doesn't make sense. But it's a start. The discussion of women's rights has entered their vocabulary. Now they can argue among themselves about what "women's rights" mean. They are forced to wonder how Islam and women's rights can be compatible.
Posted by: 2b   2005-08-15 04:16  

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