Some women's groups urge Iraqi women to back US occupation

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This appears to me as an opening gun to line up women in the US and
Europe, especially, although possibly an upper-class layer in Iraq as
well, to support the US occupation of Iraq against the
"fundamentalist" common people. NOW, for example, while opposing the
war against Iraq, has called nationally for beefing up the US
occupation of Afghanistan.

The line of argument will be used, it seems likely, to build support
for the next target whether (strategic, and likely-to-be-pushover
target) Saudi Arabia, (maybe pushover, but not very strategic) Syria,
and (highly strategic economically, militarily, and politically, but
hard way to go militarily) Iran. Thus the defense of occupation on
feminist grounds opens the door to the policy of U.S. occupation as a
force for the democratic transformation of the Middle East. And why
not the world -- aren't there a few other countries where women are
oppressed, unlike in the good old USA?

The fact that the conditions of masses of women and men --  the
dogmatically male vs. female framework, a form of radical feminism
turned social-imperialist, is very evident here -- have grown worse in
Afghanistan under the occupation. (Of course, for some -- not most, I
might add -- feminists, the solution is to send even more heavily
armed US army men and women to enforce NOW policy. Talk about
illusions!)I know almost nothing about the conditions of Muslim women
and men in Kosova.  While I will accept sound information from any
quarter, I have to admit that I am highly unimpressed by Jared Israeli
or Serb chauvinist denunciations of Albanians in general or Kosova
Albanians in particular.



THE WOMEN OF KOSOVO AND AFGHANISTAN URGE IRAQI WOMEN
TO ?ORGANIZE AND RAISE THEIR VOICE? DURING
RECONSTRUCTION

Two prominent women?s networks in Afghanistan and
Kosovo, representing hundreds of influential women
activists, have pledged solidarity to Iraqi women and
urged them not to be intimidated by the emergence of
conservative elements in Iraq that threaten to reverse
years of steady gains by women.

In separate open letters, which have just been
released, the two networks also urge the occupying
forces in Iraq to improve security - which poses a
special threat to women - and ensure that women?s
rights are guaranteed in any new legal system.

The two open letters have been issued by the Afghan
Women?s Network (AWN) and the Kosovo Women?s Network
(KWN). The AWN represents 24 NGOs and over 1000
individual women in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The KWN
serves as a coordinating forum for 32 women?s groups
in Kosovo.

'We encourage women in Iraq to organize, raise their
voice, and be part of the rebuilding of their
country,' says the Kosovo letter, which was drafted by
Igo Rogova, chair of the KWN board. The AWN letter
strikes a similar note: 'We write this letter in
solidarity with our sisters in Iraq, as they face a
similar rebuilding effort to Afghanistan. We encourage
Iraqi women to have a voice in the process.'

Unlike the women of Afghanistan, who suffered
atrociously from the repressive fundamentalism of the
Taliban, Iraqi women were among the main beneficiaries
of Iraq?s secular regime. The level of education among
Iraqi women is extraordinarily high. Iraq was one of
the first Middle Eastern countries to have a woman
judge and government minister.

There is growing concern that these gains could be
threatened by the post-war chaos and by the emergence
of religious conservatism, particularly in the Shiite
areas of southern Iraq. According to reports, women
have been apprehensive to emerge in public because of
the violence and looting, and support seems to be
growing for Islamic fundamentalism in the south.
Equally disturbing, the US and British occupation
forces appear to have made little effort to appoint
specialists in women?s affairs or make women?s rights
a priority in the reconstruction effort.

All of this seems ominously familiar to the women of
Kosovo and Afghanistan, who have had to fight hard for
a seat at the table of reconstruction.

It took a massive international lobby effort to get
women involved at the Bonn conference that planned the
reconstruction of Afghanistan. But, says the AWN
letter, the lobby is now paying dividends: 'Women
still do not have enough representation in the
transitional government of Afghanistan, but we take
hope from the appointment of Habiba Surabi as the
Minister of Women?s Affairs and Sima Sumar as the
leader of the Human Rights Commission. Women also have
been included in the Constitutional drafting process.
And even more women will be part of the Loya Jirga --
the decision-making body that, in October, will
approve or reject the final draft of the new
Constitution. Further, once the permanent government
takes leadership in Afghanistan and elections are
held, 160 women representatives are guaranteed seats
in the new government. Others may be elected to
non-reserved seats.'

The women of Kosovo also struggled to be heard
following the war, but emerged stronger for the
experience: 'We greeted joyfully the decision that put
Kosova under a UN administration. But most of those
(UN) agencies did not recognize that we existed.
Instead of dedicating all our energy to helping women
and their families put together lives shattered by
war, we had to spend efforts in fighting to be heard
and in proving to UNMIK that we knew what was best for
us, that women in Kosova were not just victims waiting
to be helped.

'But we did not give up. We raised our voice. We met
with UN officials, wrote letters, went to meetings to
present our ideas, knowledge and expertise. We talked
to donors and built alliances with those international
organizations in Kosova and abroad that genuinely saw
and related to us as partners in the common efforts to
advance women?s cause in our country.'

The AWN letter recognizes that post-war insecurity
poses a special threat to Iraqi women, just as it does
in Afghanistan: 'Even as we make progress, there are
tremendous obstacles that prevent women from taking a
stronger place in society. The most serious of these
is the threat to women?s security..from husbands,
fathers, fathers-in-law, brothers and warlords. These
threats make it difficult for women to work, to vote,
to leave their homes -- not even to mention their
holding a public office.'

The Advocacy Project has supported the KWN since 2002.
AP is now working with the Women?s Commission for
Refugee Women Commission to promote the advocacy of
the Afghan Women?s Network. Both projects received
funding from the Open Society Institute.

* The two open letters can be found on the AWN and KWN
websites:

KWN:
http://www.womensnetwork.org/english/news_openletter.html

AWN:
http://www.afghanwomensnetwork.org/activities/news_openltriraq.htm