Women in Iraq
History
Historically Iraq has had one of the best gender equality records in the Middle East, with women playing an active and visible role in political and economic life. Between 1920 and the 1980's, aspirations for building Iraq into a modern state ran high amongst the ruling elite, and women's freedom and participation in the economy was seen as an important factor in this process. During the 1970s and '80s women's participation in the workforce rose as a result of economic growth. Women benefited from equal educational opportunities, robust labour rights and legal equality within the family. In the 1980s female employment rose further because large numbers of male workers were drawn into Saddam Hussein's war with Iran.
Saddam Era
Yet years of conflict, isolation from the international community, economic mismanagement and brutal government have had a very negative impact on Iraqi women. Women now suffer multiple forms of deprivation - social, economic and political.
In 1991, a United Nations report noted increasing numbers of women-headed households (mainly as a result of widowhood) living on very low incomes. Many women lost their jobs during the severe economic downturn of the 1990's: the proportion of economically active women fell from 12% in 1977 to 9.7% in 1997. The quality of healthcare services and educational opportunities also declined significantly during the 1990s. Maternal mortality more than doubled between 1990 and 1996, and by the time of the 2003 conflict, nearly 50% of girls in rural areas did not attend school.
In the political sphere, women experienced gradual marginalisation from political decision-making during the 1990s. Lack of political freedom meant that women and men could not campaign or form community groups without the risk of imprisonment or worse. Women's associations which once provided services and outreach to local communities were unable to operate freely after a law banning NGOs was passed in 1991 (although women's groups in the Kurdish administered areas of northern Iraq continued to function).
Women in Iraq today
After the fall of Saddam's regime, Iraq's repressed civil society is beginning to flourish again. Momentum for addressing the needs of Iraqi women is gathering pace. Thousands of women's NGOs now offer social welfare services. Donors such as the UK, the USA and the United Nations have been training women leaders and building the capacity of Iraqi groups to address the needs of women and lobby the authorities on their behalf.
The need for greater participation by women in public life has been widely recognised in the new Iraq. The Transitional Administrative Law, agreed by the Iraqi Governing Council in March 2004 to set out the path to a permanent post-Saddam constitution, enshrined women's rights and set a target of at least 25% representation of women in the Iraqi National Assembly. Every third candidate on party lists for last January's elections was a woman, with the result that 31% of the seats in the National Assembly are now held by women. The Constitutional Committee which was established in May to manage the preparation of the new Iraqi constitution, and the new Government's Cabinet, which have no set targets for women's representation, also have women members, but the percentages are much lower than in the Assembly.
One Ministerial post in the Transitional Government is dedicated to addressing women's issues. Dr Azhar Abdul Karim Al-Shaikhy, recently appointed as Minister for Women, has been an activist in women's rights for a number of years and runs the Institute of Leading Women in Iraq. Until her appointment, she was a lecturer in Political Science at Baghdad University. She has outlined the priorities for her Ministry: ensure that new legislation and the constitution protects the rights of women; improve access to education; tackle violence against women; and improve awareness of women's issues amongst Iraqi men.
DFID's immediate post-conflict support for women in Iraq:
A gender expert in Baghdad advised the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) on the needs of Iraqi women in reconstruction.
A gender expert in Basra helped the CPA and local authorities to promote gender equality and diversity.
A =A3500,000 grant to UNIFEM helped finance its work to promote gender equality and encourage women activists to lobby for changes in laws and policies.
Present DFID support for women in Iraq
=A36.25 million Political Participation Fund
Through the PPF, money has been targeted at increasing women's participation in the political process, particularly in the run up to the recent elections. Several women's NGOs have received funds to run workshops, provide training, conduct media campaigns encouraging women to vote, and carry out other work to promote political awareness.
=A35 million Civil Society Fund
DFID is funding links between international and Iraqi women's organisations to strengthen the ability of local groups' to address the needs of Iraqi women. International NGOs have conducted rights awareness and leadership training, fostered links between women's groups, and organised an international NGO conference on women and foreign exchanges for Iraqi women leaders.
Challenges
The challenges facing women in Iraq are still enormous. As the Transitional National Assembly considers Iraq's new permanent constitution, tensions inevitably arise between those calling for gender equality and those who see women's rights primarily in the context of traditional Sharia law. Women activists have been targeted by insurgents and religious extremists for making their voices heard and calling for equal rights.
Years of conflict and increasing poverty have resulted in a new generation of women and girls who have grown up without the educational and employment opportunities which their mothers enjoyed. The current volatile security situation has made women more vulnerable to personal attack, and further discouraged girls from attending school. Considerable progress is still needed on primary health care to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates. The gains that have been achieved over the last two years in the political arena need to be consolidated and built upon.
Opening of Basra Provincial Council Resource Centre
In March this year, the Chairman of the newly elected Basra Provincial Council asked for the assistance of the UK to help renovate a public building to accommodate the Council and its support staff. The building would provide a working environment in which all political parties and democratic institutions in Basra could meet and work together. DFID provided =A3160,000 from its Governorates Capacity Building Programme to fund the project; and the UK military provided the daily project management.
Speaking at the opening of the Centre on 5 June, the British Consul General in Basra acknowledged the work of the Basra Provincial Council, with UK support, and underlined the significance of the Centre:
"It is an excellent example of what can be achieved when people work together for common interests and commit themselves to deliver"
"But this building is more than bricks and mortar, and the most important things inside are not the new computers and desks. It is the democratically elected representatives and public servants of the Iraqi people who will use this building who are important."
(pdf* format - 94.2 KB)