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Stand Up for Iraqi Women
Target: Secretary of State Condoleezza RiceSponsored by: Womens Funding Network
Women in Iraq have more to fear these days than the horrors of war. As the August 15 deadline approaches for the completion of the new Iraqi constitution, women in Iraq fear that their hard-won rights could disappear.
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Iraq, January 30, 2005: Women waiting to vote in elections. (Photo courtesy U.S. Embassy Baghdad.) |
A renewed interpretation of Sharia law would turn back the clock on women's rights in Iraq. As the occupier of Iraq, the United States is obligated to uphold international law guaranteeing human rights for all Iraqi people, including the full range of rights for women.
Stand up for Iraqi women! Send a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today and urge her to advocate to protect the rights of women in Iraq by working with the Iraqi government to repeal Article 14 and guarantee women's rights under the law.
not a supporter of the war or "W" but i do know that we owe it to the PEOPLE of Iraq a better country for EVERYONE...as a women working for a dictator you should know
To arrive at a peaceful settlement and a just constitution it is imperative that the women of Iraq are granted full rights: if Iraq"s future is to be a fully productive, progressive and modern society half of it's people cannot be disenfranchised. Their voices must be included and fully respected.
It is your responsibility to protect women's rights at this crucial time in history. Make us proud of you and your position in representing the United States by taking a very firm stand in favor of women's rights in Iraq and set a high standard for other Muslim societies that regard thier women as sub-class and for the world at large. Thank you. Sincerely, Kimberly J. Kerr
If we care so much about spreading freedom, we should be worried about the women, who are constantly denied basic freedoms and probably will continue to be shortchanged unless we can do something about it
The war we've created takes a deep enough toll on women in Iraq. Let us not add the denial of human rights as a remembrance of U.S. occupation!
To advocate on behalf of Iraqi women" is the very LEAST Ms. Rice should be doing, given what "we've" done to that country and its women & children! If she needs a REASON, this would indeed be more pathetic than imaginable. It's easy: Just do the RIGHT THING.
With Saddam Hussein no longer in power, everything is up for grabs in Iraq. It would be ironic indeed if women have less freedom and come under religious oppression as a result of our invading their country. Please do what is necessary so that Iraqis will have better lives under a democratic government. Positive changes are not a given; we must use diplomacy to facilitate a government in Iraq that recognizes the dignity and worth of women.
I would not like to see the rights of Iraqi women become a pawn in the present chess game maneuvering of all factions, including the U.S., as the Iraq constitution takes shape. Women's rights was one of the several pertinent issues and reasons for the war in the first place. To back away from the issue would be a betrayal of U.S. integrity and reason for the war. The far-reaching possibilities of bringing women's rights to the mid-East hangs in the balance of present circumstances in Iraq.
Secretary Rice, First, you are a woman. Secondly, your ancestry compounds the meaning of bringing human rights to all people. Third, if we do not stand firm regarding the women's rights issue in Iraq, the mid-Eastern woman's world-as well as any other intolerant place on the planet-has won again and these women remain impossibly imprisoned in archaic and unjust social systems that address only the rights of men. This should not happen in the 21st century.
Women and their children, the elderly, the ill and infirm are always the ones to pay the price for the actions of the men of the world (and it is still primarily a world controlled by men). Women, some still really children, in Afghanistan were raped as a means of punishing men who'd belonged to the wrong religious sect. I'm sure similar crimes have happened in Iraq. And we, as a nation of "Great Liberators" have stood by and let it happen because it helped appease those newly come to power. Undermining the freedoms, rights, and abilities of any segment of your population is not only wrong, but short sighted. And taking a step back in women's rights is not only wrong, but also not democracy, or freedom. Or are we only in Iraq to protect the freedom of the dominate male population siding with us?
Please, show the world that we stand for freedom and democracy for all. As, essentially, the most powerful woman in the "free world" it would seem a mandate to stand up for and defend women in vulnerable positions. And as a representative of the most powerful republic democracy in the free world, you have the moral responsibilty to make the good example. Make our forebears proud...and make us, the women in your own country, proud.
All women DESERVE Freedom of mind and spirit no matter what color,religion or FATE that is thrust upon them.
This draft constitution is a mockery of democracy. Once again, women get the shaft. This is unacceptable. Major changes need to be made if democracy is to have any chance of succeeding in Iraq.
I'd hate for the women of Iraq to have to remember "the good ol' days" when they had more rights before the U.S. invasion.
Iraqi women make up a majority in Iraqi society, but the draft constitution put forth only guarantees them roughly 25% representation in their new government. How is that FAIR?
where is their democracy , when they don`t have the same rights as men.why isn`t bush doing something about it , afterall it`s his war.
Iraqi women have much to offer their country. They as well as their men folk should have a voice in their government. Sharia law enslaves women.
Why bother making a constitution if 50% of the people are not granted full rights?!
When a mother is empowered and can make choices in her life, her family is empowered, if her family is empowered the society is empowered. If the society is empowered: humanity and all of it's relationships are stonger, and healthier, and safer.
I would like to see you advocate on behalf of the Iraqi women. Help them receive the rights which will enhance their functioning as mothers. So that they may give to the world great leaders, doctors, teachers, etc. instead of children... (mostly boys) who become angery terriorists.
If we are indeed fighting for freedom in Iraq, let it be freedom for ALL of the people of Iraq. The women of Iraq deserve to have equal rights so that they may choose their futures.
As a woman in a highly publicized and powerful office, you have a duty to stand up for the rights of women. You are an example of what young girls everywhere can aspire to be...help them so they have the opportunity to realize their dreams.
Of all people, Madam Secretary you should be the most sensitive to equal rights issues, and especially the right of women to participate in the democratic process. You must insist on that being a specific guarantee to the women of Iraq.