Women Lose Ground in the New Iraq

December 17th, 2006 at 18:25 Björn Hallberg

Despite rhetoric about women’s rights, America has helped turn Iraq into a sectarian hell where women can no longer participate in civil society. In fact, most will have to be content if they can leave the house every other month or so.

For much of the 20th century, and under various leaders, Iraq was one of the most progressive Middle Eastern countries in its treatment of women, who were encouraged to go to school and enter the workforce. Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party espoused a secular Arab nationalism that advocated women’s full participation in society. But years of war changed that.

So there you have it. Women are in fact prisoners in their own homes. People are fleeing Iraq like never before. Not even by their own murderous standards can the Americans claim success.

In other news, from Iraq:

• The Corporate Occupation of Iraq - In light of the Iraq Study Group recommendations and their failure to address the real problems facing Iraq, the author of this TomPaine opinion piece advises that the US end the corporate invasion of Iraq. US companies, which were awarded lucrative contracts by the US government following the 2003 invasion, failed to reconstruct war-torn Iraq as intended. The author concludes that “the Bush administration must abandon its plan to remake Iraq into an economic wonderland for US corporations,” and return Iraq to the Iraqi people “to remake as they themselves see fit.”
• Cornered Military Takes to Desperate Tactics - Although the Geneva Conventions forbid the use of collective punishment on civilian populations, the US military continues to employ such tactics in urban areas of Iraq. Due to a large resistance against the US-led occupation, residents in Siniyah, Fallujah and Ramadi say they face increased levels of collective punishment by US forces, including interference with the provision of medical care, electricity cuts and constant identity checks. Meanwhile, the vast majority of the population of Fallujah demands the “unconditional withdrawal of US troops from their city.”
• It’s Still About Oil in Iraq - The author of this Los Angeles Times piece argues that the US pursuit for control of oil in the Middle East continues to drive the Iraq war, citing recommendations from the Iraq Study Group as evidence. The study group has called on the US government to “assist Iraqi leaders to reorganize the national oil industry as a commercial enterprise” and to “encourage investment in Iraq’s oil sector by the international community and by international energy companies.” The author points out that such recommendations reflect the US government’s intention to privatize Iraq’s currently nationalized oil industry, giving US corporations access to “the world’s second-largest known oil reserves.”
• Iraq: Not Civil War, Occupation - Although UN Secretary General Kofi Annan comments that the situation in Iraq “is worse than civil war,” this openDemocracy article points out that the country remains “occupied” by US forces, which fuels and escalates the violence in that country. The author emphasizes that the Iraq conflict is not a civil war and that abuse of the term can “mislead the public into supporting or acquiescing in policies on vital matters” that they would otherwise condemn. Furthermore, the author notes that Iraqis will not relent in their resistance to the occupation until foreign troops are withdrawn.
• Iraq: Long History of Multi-Faith Co-Existence in Jeopardy - This Global Research piece analyzes the disappearance of Iraq’s multi-faith co-existence due to increasing ethnic violence, particularly in Iraq’s north. Although reports of violence between Sunni and Shiite sects dominate the media, the author points out that Turkmens and Kurds also face marginalization, discrimination and hostility. Despite appearances of stability in northern Iraq, “there are troubling signs of an ethnic cleansing underway.” Furthermore, northern cities such as Tel-Afar, which was the subject of a large-scale bombardment by US forces in 2005, “remains under military siege, crippled and little heard from.”

Entry 663 filed under: Middle East. This entry was posted 1 year, 7 months ago. RSS feed for comments on this post.