Hundreds of Iraqi women rally in defiance of order
BAGHDAD: Hundreds of Iraqi women of all ages flooded central Baghdad on Thursday alongside male anti-government protesters, defying an order by powerful cleric Moqtada Sadr to separate the genders in the rallies.
Some were veiled, others not, still more wrapped their faces in black-and-white checkered scarves. Most carried roses, Iraqi flags or signs defending their role in the regime change demonstrations.
They marched through a tunnel and spilled out into Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the youth-dominated movement in a country where vast regions remain socially conservative.
“We want to protect women’s role in the protests as we’re just like the men. There are efforts to kick us out of Tahrir but we’ll only come back stronger,” said Zainab Ahmad, a pharmacy student.
“Some people were inciting against us a few days ago, seeking to keep women at home or keep them quiet. But we turned out today in large numbers to prove to those people that their efforts will end in failure,” she said.
Ahmad appeared to be referring to controversial cleric Moqtada Sadr, a powerful figure who first backed the rallies when they erupted in October but who has since sought to discredit them.
On Saturday, the militiaman-turned-politician had alleged drug and alcohol use among the protesters and said it was immoral for men and women to mix there.
And a few moments before Thursday’s women’s march began, Sadr once again took to Twitter to slam the protests as being rife with “nudity, promiscuity, drunkenness, immorality, debauchery ... and non-believers.”
In a strange turn, he said Iraq must not “turn into Chicago,” which he said was full of “moral looseness” including homosexuality, a claim that was immediately mocked online.
While the numbers in Tahrir have dwindled in recent weeks, many Iraqi youth say the past four months of rallies have helped break down widespread conservative social norms.
Men and women were seen holding hands in Tahrir and even camping out in the square together.
On Thursday, men linked arms to form a protective ring around the women as they marched for over an hour.
“Revolution is my name, male silence is the real shame!” they chanted, then adding “Freedom, revolution, feminism!”
Some of their chants were snide remarks at Sadr himself.
“Where are the millions?” some said, referring to the cleric’s call for a million-strong march several weeks ago that saw much smaller numbers hit the streets.
The rallies have slammed Iraqi authorities for being corrupt, incompetent and beholden to neighbouring Iran.
“They want us to be a second Iran, but Iraqi women weren’t born to let men dictate to them what to do,” protester Raya Assi told AFP on Thursday. “They have to accept us the way we are.”
In a separate development, the Iraqi government has given Nato the green light to stay in the country, the alliance’s chief said on Thursday, weeks after Baghdad demanded foreign forces leave the country over the US killing of Iran’s top general near the Baghdad airport.
Prodded by US President Donald Trump to do more in the wider Middle East, Nato has been developing plans to expand its training effort in Iraq, where it was helping build up the Iraqi army and provide security advice to government ministries until it was suspended over the drone strike.
“The government of Iraq has confirmed to us their desire for a continuation of the Nato training, advising and capacity building activities for the Iraqi armed forces,” Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels during a meeting of allied defense ministers.
“We will only stay in Iraq as long as we are welcome,” he added.
Nato’s Canada-led training mission was launched in 2018 and involves around 500 troops. The plan now is to move hundreds of trainers working with the international force fighting Daesh group in Iraq over to that mission.
Unlike the international coalition, Nato’s training effort does not involve combat operations.
The move was not expected to involve the deployment of more troops. But when asked if he had received pledges from other Nato allies to do more so the US could reduce its personnel in Iraq, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said “the short answer is yes.” He declined to provide details.
Stoltenberg also provided no details about how many troops might be added to the training force or what new activities they might eventually undertake. More details could be made public after he meets top officials in the anti-is coalition in Munich, Germany on Friday.
Officials have said “a couple of hundred” troops would change roles. The first step would be to expand the training at three bases in central Iraq. A second step, possibly over the summer, would see the mission’s mandate changed to take over more activities currently handled by the coalition.
BRUSSELS: The Iraqi government has given Nato the green light to stay in the country, the alliance’s chief said on Thursday, weeks after Iraq demanded foreign forces leave the country over the US killing of Iran’s top general near the Baghdad airport.
Prodded by US President Donald Trump to do more in the wider Middle East, Nato has been developing plans to expand its training effort in Iraq, where it was helping build up the Iraqi army and provide security advice to government ministries until it was suspended over the drone strike.
“The government of Iraq has confirmed to us their desire for a continuation of the Nato training, advising and capacity building activities for the Iraqi armed forces,” Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels during a meeting of allied defense ministers.
“We will only stay in Iraq as long as we are welcome,” he added.
Nat o’ s canada-led training mission was launched in 2018 and involves around 500 troops. The plan now is to move hundreds of trainers working with the international force fighting the Daesh group in Iraq over to that mission.
Unlike the international coalition, Nato’s training effort does not involve combat operations.
The move was not expected to involve the deployment of more troops. But when asked if he had received pledges from other Nato allies to do more so the US could reduce its personnel in Iraq, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said “the short answer is yes.” He declined to provide details.
Stoltenberg also provided no details about how many troops might be added to the training force or what new activities they might eventually undertake. More details could be made public after he meets top officials in the anti-daesh coalition in Munich, Germany on Friday.
Officials have said “a couple of hundred” troops would change roles.
The first step would be to expand the training at three bases in central Iraq. A second step, possibly over the summer, would see the mission’s mandate changed to take over more activities currently handled by the coalition.
Esper said the ministers have “asked Nato’s military leaders to consider what more the alliance could do to assist the Iraqi security forces.”
Esper said he welcomed “follow-on discussions on how to broaden Nato’s role in the Middle East to defend the international rules-based order, to include deploying air defenses and other capabilities that would deter aggression and reassure partners.” Again, no details were provided.