Tough road for female candidates in May elections
BAGHDAD — Iraqi women running for parliament this month are undaunted, despite many challenges they face ahead of the May 12 elections — including unprecedented smear campaigns complete with sex videos that have forced some to withdraw.
Many see the vote as a chance to push women’s issues to the fore in this traditionally male-dominated society, where women still find it hard to win a powerful place in politics.
There are concerns that women’s rights are being eroded, 15 years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein with hopes of bringing democracy to a nation long staggering under wars, oppression and countless economic and social problems. Nearly 2,600 female candidates are vying for a quarter — a quota allotted to women under the constitution — of parliament’s 329 seats in these elections, the fourth since Hussein’s 2003 ouster.
Fatin Rasheed Hameed, a candidate with the Baghdad Alliance party dominated by the country’s minority Sunnis, says there would be fewer women in parliament if it were not for the 25 percent quota.
“One of the most important women’s issues in Iraq that needs to be urgently addressed is marginalization,” said the mother of two and a university professor with a doctorate in biology. “Our society still allows men to dominate in all areas and fields.”
“Even this quota is unfair,” she added. “Half of any society’s success depends on women; therefore the representation should be ... at least half of the seats.”
Iraqi women account for 57 percent of Iraq’s population of over 37 million, according to the U.N. Development Program, and despite government efforts to address gender inequality, the situation for Iraqi women has declined steadily since 2003.
According to the UNDP, one in every 10 Iraqi households is headed by a widow. In recent years, Iraqi women suffered further economic, social and political marginalization due to decades of wars, conflict, violence and sanctions.
In the 1950s, Iraq had a liberal society, becoming the first Arab country to name a female minister and adopt progressive laws for women and the family. But, the situation started to decline during Hussein’s era and became further complicated after 2003, mainly due to the rise of the country’s religious institutions but also militancy and extremism.