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Rantings of a Sandmonkey

Be forewarned: The writer of this blog is an extremely cynical, snarky, pro-US, secular, libertarian, disgruntled sandmonkey. If this is your cup of tea, please enjoy your stay here. If not, please sod off

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

Iraqi Parliament Girlfight!

Apparently women MP's in Iraq's National assembly are having, ehh, some disagreements, when it comes to their definitions of "Women rights". The main area of disagreement? Sharia law: One morning last week, three dozen women in Western-style business suits crowded into the office of the man who would soon be Iraq's prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Most were members of the newly elected National Assembly, and they had a list of demands. They wanted women to run at least 10 of Iraq's 30-odd government ministries. They wanted the number of places reserved for women on party slates raised to 40 percent in future elections. Most of all, they wanted a promise of respect for women's rights. Sounds good right? Well, wait till the other group shows up: Hours later, another group of women who are assembly members arrived in Dr. Jaafari's office. They wore black abayas, the garments that cover a woman's body from head to foot, and they had another agenda. They wanted to put aspects of Islamic law into Iraq's legal code - including provisions that would allow men as many as four wives and reduce the amount of money allotted to women in inheritances. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. This other group of women are actually advocating less rights for women. Interesting, no? On one side are those in the dominant Shiite alliance that was formed under the auspices of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric. Many see their election as an opportunity to bring Iraq's laws into harmony with Shariah, Islam's version of divine law, drawn from the Koran and other religious sources. This is no accident. The Shiite leadership, in fact, is shrewdly relying on these women to carry much of the fight in the new assembly over where Islam itself, not just its women, should fit in Iraqi society. Ohh, female agents to advance the agenda of the male religious Shiite leadership. Women acting on behalf of men to opress women. Isn't that nice? I have now officially seen everything. But wait, i hear what some of you will say, one of the women actually said it in the article. Where is it, where is it, ahh, here: "We have different traditions," Ms. Musawi said. "What is acceptable to you is not acceptable to us." "And what is not acceptable to you, is more then acceptable to us. We like getting less money; we like for our men to have more wives; and we also do not mind a little honor killing!" Ohh, you think i took it too far? I wish: Some Iraqi women say blocking the traditionalists' proposals is not enough. Iraq's laws now provide cover for men who commit so-called honor killings - murdering wives or female relatives who are suspected of infidelity. One law specifically states that physical abuse is not grounds for divorce. Another makes it very difficult for a woman to keep her children if she remarries after a divorce. That's what i call female empowerment! You know, if there was just a way to convince the Sharia people that maybe the Sharia should not be applied as basis for civil law, we wouldn't have this problem. If only someone would come up with a soloution. You know, someone who is smart, sexy and usually right about those things! Hmmm..........

6 Comments:

At 4/13/2005 09:29:00 AM, Blogger Candace April said...

When are people going to understand that piercings in different places or breaking glasses after dinner are traditions, opressing a portion of your population with second class citizenship (and worse!) is not? Sigh.

 
At 4/13/2005 10:33:00 AM, Blogger Nadia said...

as an arab female, i just don't get these women who act as cheerleaders for patriarchy. what do they get out of promoting their own oppression and second-class status?

maybe they enjoy the approval they get from sexist men - they're the "good girls" who stand up to those uppity feminists who have the nerve to demand equality. maybe they have a streak of self-loathing masochism - if they can't feel free and enjoy life, then no woman can. (sigh)

 
At 4/13/2005 06:31:00 PM, Blogger gatorbait said...

Mazola ,hijabs, visqueen, Okay, we're all set .... Got the Video cam ready, Sam?

 
At 4/14/2005 04:35:00 PM, Blogger Kat said...

You know, it reminds me of the slave trade. You know who was most notorious for selling their own people into slavery?

Or, that scene from Animal House: Yes, please, may I have another.

I read about this very same thing when reading about women's suffrage in the US. You would not believe how many religious and secular "ladies" auxilaries referred to the others demanding rights as "sinners", "unladylike", "harlots" for daring to try and be "equal" to men since of course the bible said something about "women obey your husbands" (this from a mysognist bachelor apostle) LOL

Anyway...it's an historical fact, my brother, people shoot themselves in the foot ALL the time.

I say, go forth ladies and kick some jihad booty.

 
At 12/07/2005 08:36:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Feminist women: if you want to be hated by all men, then by all means act against us. Men in the USA HATE our worthless females. We cheer on the Saudi, the Iranian, the Afghani men even though they may hate us; we cheer them because they do not bow down to the female. You may get lipservice, you may get to be a whore for us, but you will never be less then reviled for your want of equal rights. Submissive girls are the only females we will ever truly love, all others are merely whores who some of us may use for service.

Good on the Iraqi women who do not oppose men. They know love; that is why they act in the interest of their husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons. You feminist women know only the worship of yourselves as goddess; a shallow love that is unfufilling. Go to hell ye women who care only about thyself and thy 'sisters' and naught for men.

 
At 12/07/2005 08:37:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Death To women's Rights

 

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