For female candidates, election is both a = danger and an=20 opportunity

Borzou = Daragahi,=20 Chronicle Foreign Service

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Printable=20 Version=20
Email=20 This Article

Baghdad -- Decades ago, Zakia Khalifa al-Zaidi = would=20 wrap herself in an all- covering black abaya as a shield against = the=20 watchful eyes of Saddam Hussein's security apparatus as she went = about the=20 dangerous task of recruiting members into the country's outlawed = Communist=20 Party.=20

Now, as a 72-year-old candidate in Sunday's national election, = she=20 finds herself forced to dress in traditional religious attire = again, this=20 time to protect herself from the eyes of Islamic militants who = prowl the=20 streets as she campaigns for a seat in the National Assembly=20

"I've been threatened with death," said al-Zaidi, the top = female=20 candidate on her party's list.=20

In the 1950s, she protested against the Iraqi monarchy and = ended up in=20 jail. In the 1980s, she was jailed by Hussein's government. But = it's=20 different today.=20

"We don't know where the bullets will come from,'' she said. = "The women=20 now are all scared."=20

For the women of Iraq, this weekend's election will represent a = landmark of sorts. At least a quarter of the 275 seats in the = assembly=20 that will write the new constitution are reserved for women, and 1 = out of=20 every 3 candidates on party lists must be female. Under Hussein, = Iraqi=20 women and men alike were obliged to join the Baath Party if they = wished to=20 enter political or civic life. Now they can participate in the = parties and=20 organizations of their choosing, at least in theory.=20

Violence and Iraq's cultural wars complicate women's exercise = of=20 freedom, making it nearly impossible for candidates to stump for = votes.=20

One, Widjan al-Khuzai of the Independent Progressive Movement, = was shot=20 in the face and killed in December. Salama Khafaji, 46, a = prominent=20 candidate for the United Iraqi Alliance, the largest Shiite slate, = survived an assassination attempt in May in which her 17-year-old = son was=20 killed.=20

In an Iraqi society protective of women, they are also more = likely to=20 stay home on election day because of fear of violence aimed at = voting=20 sites. Beyond that, say Iraqi women, male chauvinism persists, and = many=20 women fear they will be relegated to the political sidelines no = matter how=20 many seats they win in the new assembly.=20

"The political parties make nice promises, but we think it's = just for=20 the elections," said Hero Anwer, a 34-year-old employee of an aid = group in=20 the northern city of Kirkuk. "In the past, we got some high posts, = but it=20 was just for show. It wasn't real power."=20

Iraq's female candidates now hope they can band together and = become a=20 unified force, despite their political, ethnic and religious = differences.=20

When they met with U.S. congresswomen, including Rep. Ellen = Tauscher,=20 D- Walnut Creek, at a training forum in Amman, Jordan, earlier = this month,=20 the candidates were worried about quarrels erupting between women = of=20 secular and religious backgrounds or among different ethnic = groups, said=20 Khafaji.=20

Instead, she was warmed by the spirit of unity, so different = from the=20 noisy, quarrelsome politics sometimes practiced by Iraqi men. = Despite=20 sharp differences of opinion, she said they were able to lay the=20 groundwork for a new type of politics.=20

"We realized that we all had one aim -- to improve the = situation of=20 women in Iraq," she said. "We didn't quarrel, and we tried always = to=20 accept each other. We were able to speak about whichever subjects = we liked=20 and how to deal with these problems."=20

Iraq's laws have long given women equal rights -- at least on = paper --=20 in voting, access to education, property ownership and some = aspects of=20 family life. Last year, conservative Muslims tried to roll back = some of=20 those rights and put matters of marriage, divorce, child custody = and=20 inheritance in the hands of clerics. The effort failed narrowly, = but it=20 sent a message to female politicians.=20

Though they sometimes hail from very traditional religious = backgrounds,=20 Iraqi female candidates so far have been focused on nuts-and-bolts = issues=20 common to all Iraqis. At a debate organized by the U.S. Embassy in = the=20 religiously conservative city of Najaf on Tuesday, veiled women = candidates=20 discussed the benefits of computer and language classes in helping = to=20 build the economy of the country's poverty-stricken south.=20

"I am running as a candidate to defend the poor and raise the = plight of=20 the dispossessed," said Anwar Uboud-Ali, a member of the Loyalty = to Najaf=20 bloc. "I am talking about a class that has nothing."=20

All the candidates agreed that the new constitution must make = women's=20 rights permanent. "It is our first opportunity for women to = represent=20 ourselves and have our voices heard," said Nasran al-Fatlawi, a = candidate=20 on the United Iraqi Alliance list.=20

One of the ironies of the post-Hussein era, says Khafaji, is = that=20 problems that once befell women in the home are now rampant in the = country=20 as a whole. Khafaji, a dentist who runs a charity for women and = children,=20 said domestic violence has decreased since the U.S.-led invasion = while=20 street crimes against women have multiplied.=20

"Because the last regime was so repressive, the violence was = directed=20 at family," said Khafaji. "Now it's directed in crimes on the = civilian=20 population. "=20

On balance, she said with a sigh, the status of ordinary women = has=20 deteriorated since the fall of the Hussein government, making the=20 challenge of improving women's lot more difficult.=20

"Back then, our enemy was known," she said. "Now we have a lot = of=20 enemies. We don't even know who our enemies are."

Transition to self-government=20

What: Iraqis voters will elect 275 members of the transitional = National=20 Assembly, which will write a constitution for the county; 111 = members of=20 the Kurdish legislature; and local councils in Iraq's 18 = provinces.=20

When: Voting takes place Sunday.=20

How: Individual candidates do not run for seats. Instead, = "lists" of=20 candidates that are akin to political parties contend for seats. = Seats are=20 then awarded on a proportional basis. For example, if the Omar = Party were=20 to capture 25 percent of the vote, 25 percent of assembly seats = would be=20 awarded to its members, starting from the top of the list. = Approximately=20 19,000 Iraqis are seeking national or local office.=20

News pool reports contributed to this story.

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