US-Appointed Council Abolishes Rights of Iraqi Women: MADRE Supports International Campaign to Repeal Resolution 137
January 30, 2004 - New York. MADRE, an international women’s human rights organization, opposes the imposition of Islamic law on the people of Iraq by the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council (IGC). Under IGC Resolution 137, issued on December 29, 2003, arbitrary interpretations of religious law threaten to replace one of the Middle East’s most progressive personal status laws. The Resolution gravely endangers women’s rights, undermines prospects for democracy and foments a dangerous sectarianism in an already destabilized society.
Resolution 137 could give self-appointed religious clerics the authority to inflict grave human rights violations on Iraqi women, including denial of the rights to education, employment, freedom of movement and travel, property inheritance and custody of their children. Forced early marriage, polygamy, compulsory religious dress, wife beating, execution by stoning as punishment for female adultery and public flogging of women for disobeying religious rules could all be sanctioned if the Resolution is upheld.
The Resolution would replace Iraq’s 1959 personal status laws with religious law. These laws are the culmination of 50 years of struggle by the Iraqi women’s movement and other progressives, and are not a product of Saddam Hussein’s regime. While the 1959 laws were applied universally to all Iraqis, the new law would be administered by un-elected clerics from each of Iraq’s multiple religious groups for members of their own communities. Tensions between Islamic groups with differing rules about personal status issues are sure to be exacerbated. The resulting civil strife will further endanger Iraqis and facilitate a “divide and rule” strategy for the new US-dominated government.
Iraq, which was overwhelmingly secular until its social fabric was destroyed by the US-led economic siege of the 1990s, is being catapulted towards theocratic rule. The US bears direct responsibility for the ensuing human rights crisis. Under Paul Bremer’s leadership, the US appointed reactionary clerics to the IGC, virtually guaranteeing this attack on Iraqi women and the threat to democratic secularism. Moreover, as an interim body directly installed by the US Occupation Authority, the IGC has no legitimate power to change Iraqi civil law. Under the 1907 Hague Conventions, the IGC is empowered only to address issues of public order and safety.*
As MADRE Associate Director Yifat Susskind commented, “In less than 15 minutes of discussion, the IGC – none of whose members were elected by Iraqis – passed Resolution 137, effectively abolishing women’s legal rights in ‘liberated’ Iraq. Under the direct authority of the Bush Administration, the IGC has privileged sectarianism over inclusiveness and violated core principles of democratic governance: transparency, accountability, the independence of the judiciary and the separation of the legislative and executive bodies. Iraqi women are organizing against this US-imposed cancellation of their human rights and MADRE is supporting their call.”
MADRE emphasizes that:
- Iraqi women and their families will only be able to exercise the full range of human rights when Iraq is free from war, economic exploitation and military occupation.
- An immediate end to the US military occupation of Iraq is necessary. A US-funded, UN-led peacekeeping force should assume authority during a speedy transition to Iraqi sovereignty.
- Nurturing democracy in Iraq requires defending the leadership of progressive forces inside Iraq, particularly the Iraqi women’s movement. Genuine democracy will mean that the Iraqi people, not US-based corporations, control and benefit from Iraq’s resources, reconstruction process and future economic policies.
*Resolution 137 also violates Iraq’s international legal obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (ratified by Iraq in 1986) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified by Iraq in 1994).
MADRE is an international women’s human rights organization that works in partnership with women’s community-based groups in conflict areas worldwide. Our programs address issues of sustainable development, community improvement and women’s health; violence and war; discrimination and racism; self-determination and collective rights; women’s leadership development; and human rights education.
Yifat Susskind, MADRE's Communications Director, was born and raised in Israel and was active in the Israeli women's peace movement for several years. She has been featured as a commentator on CNN, National Public Radio and BBC Radio. Ms. Susskind has written for Middle East Research & Information Project (MERIP) and been profiled in Ms. magazine and New York City’s Daily News. She is the author of a book on US foreign policy and women’s human rights, forthcoming, from Common Courage Press. Interviews Available.
