Summary
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- One morning last week, three dozen women in Western-style business suits crowded into the office of the man who would soon be Iraq's prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Most were members of the newly elected National Assembly, and they had a list of demands.
They wanted women to run at least 10 of Iraq's 30-odd government ministries. They wanted the number of places reserved for women on party slates raised to 40 percent in future elections. Most of all, they wanted a promise of respect for women's rights.See the full content of this document
Extract
Iraqi Women Divided Over Women's Rights
Hours later, another group of women who are assembly members arrived in Jaafari's office. They wore black abayas, the garments that cover a woman's body from head to foot, and they had another agenda. They wanted to put aspects of Islamic law into Iraq's legal code -- including provisions that would allow men as many as four wives and reduce the amount of money allotted to women in inheritances.
As Iraq's ...See the full content of this document
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