Women for a Free Iraq
 

Islam & Democracy

Women for a Free Iraq hosts a conference for Women in the Heartland of Iraq


Last week, the Women for a Free Iraq hosted a four-day conference for women from the south and center of Iraq. The Heartland of Iraq's Women Conference, which was sponsored by US-AID, took place at the University of Babylon in Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad. Close to 200 women attended from the five south-central provinces of Babil, Karbala, Najaf, Diwaniya and Wasit, and included women who are engaged in the establishment of women's centers and organizations in these provinces. The conference also hosted visiting women's delegations from Basra and Kurdistan
Ambassador Paul Bremer delivered the closing remarks, and brought with him a taped address by Dr. Condoleezza Rice. It was a momentous ending to four very intense days during which the women engaged in lively debates about women's rights and democracy in the new Iraq.

We were pulled into the core questions of today's Iraq: What is democracy? Is it simply majority rule - as a significant number of women in the room asserted? What protections should there be for minorities? Does freedom require the separation of religion and state?

All the women at the conference, from the most conservative to the most secular, were eager to hear from the panelists. They know this is a historical time in Iraq and they want to be at the table in rebuilding it. They are smart, articulate and assertive. They asked us about democracy, how other countries govern themselves, how to influence the political process and build their organizations. They told us that we needed to teach the men too, not just the women.

The Kurdish delegation, which included long-time women's activists, shared their own experiences of starting women's centers, newspapers, literacy and skills training programs for women in the Kurdish safe haven in 1991. The participants begged them to come back and help them. "You have been learning to live in freedom and democracy for twelve years, now you can bring your lessons from the north to the south and help us catch up" one woman stated.

The participants meticulously read everything we gave them. We distributed the only democratic constitution we could find in Arabic, the Swiss constitution. The delegation from Najaf peppered the hosts with their questions: "Please, help us understand, what is federalism? And what is so unique about the American system?" Late into the night, our speakers explained the concepts of central and local government, separation of powers and checks and balances...

Even so, the conference was not easy, nor was it always pleasant. Tensions emerged between those who advocated for separation of religion state, and some of the most conservative women who argued that the Koran held all the answers and an Islamic state would deliver freedom.

The local community in Hilla was suspicious - what was this conference about? Everyone wanted to be included, and complained when they were not. Every day there were banners against the conference posted on the university gates and in the cafeteria. One night, the university arranged for an Islamic scholar to come to the dormitories where we were staying and lecture the participants about Islam. He told them to beware of the "foreign" ideas that were being discussed at the conference and even threatened them.

But the hosts and speakers from Women for a Free Iraq stood up and spoke back, respectfully, but forcefully. They said: "This is what freedom means: you have a right to express yourself, and we will listen, but now we too have the right to speak. If you believe in freedom and democracy, if you say you do, then you must let us speak."

When we closed the conference, the women stood up and clapped, tears streaming down their faces. We knew something very special, maybe even historical, had taken place - speakers and participants alike were transformed by the experience.

The conference chair, Ala Talabani, a long-time activist against Saddam from Kirkurk now acting as a liason between women's group around the country and the Coalition Provisional Authority and Iraqi Governing Council , revealed a remarkable potential to unite the women. She was astounding to watch, bridging divisions without shying away from the tough issues.

Another member of the Women for a Free Iraq, Zainab al-Suwaij, took a courageous step by speaking in favor of separation of religion and state. As a devout Muslim who is the granddaughter of a prominent religious scholar in Basra, her statement put in motion a debate that energized a silent majority of the women.

The day after the conference, two of the other Women for a Free Iraq speakers, Safia al-Souhail and Rend el-Rahim, were nominated to replace the late Akila Hashemi on the Iraqi Governing Council.

The Women for a Free Iraq was instrumental in orchestrating the cooperation of these remarkable women, who are positioned to take leadership roles in the new Iraq, to host the conference. In so doing, we went to the heart of conflict between extremism and freedom, where it is taking place today: in the minds of the Iraqi people. There is much work yet to be done to secure freedom for all Iraqis, men and women. We saw at the conference how eager Iraqis are to learn. It is up to us, those who believe in freedom and democracy, to give them the knowledge they are clamoring for, and thus help them join the free nations of the world.

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Its encouraging to see this...finally! :a: