Iraq’s female candidates face smear campaign designed to ruin reputations
Several women candidates in the Iraqi elections next month have been the targets of online smear campaigns.
Derogatory videos and comments have been circulated less than week since campaigning began for next month’s election, prompting activists to call for government action.
Antithar Al Shammari, a member of parliament, was dropped as a candidate from Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi’s electoral list on Thursday after a salacious video purportedly featuring her was circulated online.
Mrs Al Shammari said the video was fake and urged the public to “not question the dignity of Iraqi women”.
“Corrupt politicians are wrongfully accusing me by publishing fake videos,” she said on Facebook. “I am begging you to not listen or take notice of these rumours.”
Other images online showed women candidates being subjected to vulgar acts.
Hanna Edward, an Iraqi women’s rights advocate in Baghdad, told The National that female candidates were being subjected to vicious attacks.
“The attacks are discriminatory and are steered to ruin their images and to pressure them to step down,” Ms Edward said.
The country had not witnessed anything like this in previous rounds of elections, she said.
After the toppling of the dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, women’s groups called for a quota in parliament, seeking 40 per cent of seats but managing to get a quarter.
Ms Edward said women made up 28 per cent of the nearly 7,000 candidates competing for 329 seats in the general election next month – Iraq’s fourth since 2003.
She said women were hoping that this election would bring them a greater role in government.
“I ask this question: if a woman is portrayed in this horrific way, what happened to the images of corrupt political men?” Ms Edward said.
Saraw Abdul Wahid, another female MP, said on Thursday that women politicians were being targeted by defamation.
“I am calling on the Ministry of Communications and Civil Societies to monitor and control the abuse we are getting on social media and to stand against the defamation of women,” she said.
Mr Al Abadi, who is seeking another term in office, had called for last month for greater female participation in the government.
“Current laws and legislation grant women broad powers to participate in Iraq’s political process,” he said. “This should be taken advantage of.”
Rasha Al Aqeedi, a researcher at the Al Mesbar Studies and Research Centre in Dubai, told
The National that the attacks were part of a “dominating, misogynistic culture”.
The woman is always at fault,she said. “In Iraq we see it on the streets and in politics, of course.