Iraqi women fear going public in elections.
Iraqi women fear going public in elections.
“Under heavy U.S. pressure to promote gender equality,” Iraq has adopted rules requiring that women make up at least a quarter of provincial councils. However, rampant violence and lingering gender inequality has led to a shortage of women willing to run for public office in the Jan. 31 elections:
In the past elections, names did not appear on the ballot—only numbers and symbols identified with political parties. …. In the new vote, the names of candidates must be presented to voters.
The change to a so-called open list has scared some qualified Iraqis from running, particularly women. Activists are worried there won’t be enough women to meet the 25 percent threshold, or that the parties will just find women to act as figureheads to fill the quota.
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Democracy is on the march……fail.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:36 pmIraqi women fear going public in elections.
– - The McCain campaign will send Palin to Iraq with her hockey stick and shotgun to accompany women to the polling place.
And here’s a shout out to the Burka babes at the Sadaam Fruit & Vegetable Stand in downtown Tikrit.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:38 pmMaybe they should send Palin over to give them a few You bet cha’s and darn tootin’s . that will liven up the voters… DUH !!!
Dont they know that Iraq is a peaceful democracy??
October 6th, 2008 at 4:39 pmThings are just great in Iraq. Haven’t the christians been
October 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pm“surged out” as well?
Well, looks like our plans for bringing American-style democracy to Iraq are going just swimmingly!
All we need to do now is teach them voter caging and swift-boating and they’ll be all set!
October 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pmlurker Says:
Things are just great in Iraq. Haven’t the christians been
“surged out” as well?
October 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Actually, they’re starting their own militias:
October 6th, 2008 at 4:45 pmhttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95343489
hussein toasterhead
October 6th, 2008 at 4:47 pmMccain could send scarah to train their CiC.
I heard that NPR bit this morning. Now who again is that nebulous fellow funding that whole gig?
October 6th, 2008 at 4:47 pmOops, I was a little quick on the submit comment thing. I wanted to ask if there where any agnostic or atheist militias yet.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:48 pmLurker and Toasterhead – ?Christian Militias???????????
OTOH – I can’t imagine that we would know so little about sociology that we wouldn’t anticipate trouble in suddenly taking a patriarical society and mandating 25% female. Doesn’t anyone realize that those elected under such laws will instantly be suspect and become targets ?
October 6th, 2008 at 4:50 pmOy.
“Mission accomplished.” ~ Chimpy
October 6th, 2008 at 4:55 pm…but…but…but I thought the “surge” made everything so much better over there, didn’t it? Isn’t it safe now? Why are these women so afraid? Haven’t we succeeded in making Iraq just like us?
October 6th, 2008 at 4:55 pmIf the problem weren’t so serious, I would recommend another Tina Fey sketch — one portraying Palin giving a motivational speech to Iraqi women about putting “country first” and being a “maverick”.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:58 pmThis will result in getting a lot of very brave women killed or injured.humiliated by (mainly Shi’a) religious enforcers, and convincing a lot of other women to abandon any such hopes because of the treatment they’ll see meted out to the brave ones…
I’d feel a lot more confident in USer efforts to spread “democracy” around the world if we were more tolerant and supportive of it here. When I read of the efforts of the “parties” (really, merely competing wings of the same Party of Property; both do it) to disenfranchise people whom they believe hostile–or even not enthusiastic enough–to themselves, I have a hard time taking international initiatives for ‘democracy’ seriously.
But then I have grown entirely cynical about the MAJORITY of claims made by the inevitably exceptionalist apologists for the Murkin Dream…
October 6th, 2008 at 5:01 pmThis is stupid. Women don’t make up 25% of elected offices even in the U.S. do they?
October 6th, 2008 at 5:01 pm# hussein toasterhead Says:
Well, looks like our plans for bringing American-style democracy to Iraq are going just swimmingly!
All we need to do now is teach them voter caging and swift-boating and they’ll be all set!
October 6th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
When you’ve got ‘ethnic cleansing’ at the barrel of a gun, voter caging probably seems pretty lame. As for swift-boating, the militias pretty much just kill folks they wanna prevent from running.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:04 pmbut but but…. the surge worked didn’t it??
October 6th, 2008 at 5:04 pmU.S. to Iraq: “You’re free! To do precisely what we tell you”.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:08 pmmisshusseinmolly Says:
one portraying Palin giving a motivational speech to Iraqi women about putting “country first” and being a “maverick”.
She could also show them her “wink” style too because
October 6th, 2008 at 5:08 pmit won’t be long before they have to wear burka’s and all
anyone will see will be their eyes.
Would you? Maybe send old McCancerGonnaDie&NaziBarbiBecomesPres should go over there and lead the way with the Not-so-Straight-Talk-Express.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:23 pmMapleStreet Says:
——————————————————————————–
Lurker and Toasterhead – ?Christian Militias???????????
Does it seem unchristian to have a militia?
Jesus said this:”Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34)
October 6th, 2008 at 5:24 pmMapleStreet Says:
OTOH – I can’t imagine that we would know so little about sociology that we wouldn’t anticipate trouble in suddenly taking a patriarical society and mandating 25% female.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
______
When we invaded, we didn’t know the difference between Sunni and Shi’a.
Some people running for President still don’t…
October 6th, 2008 at 5:30 pmparties will just find women to act as figureheads to fill the quota.
You mean like McCain picking Palin?
October 6th, 2008 at 5:31 pmIt took just over a hundred years in this country for women to be alllowed to vote. Having a woman on the top ticket is still a big deal here, especially since a woman’s never won. It is so silly to mandate such things when we’re not exactly there ourselves.
Instant democracy: just add water and mix well.
October 6th, 2008 at 5:56 pmInstant equality: just add water and mix well. That’s how it seems the ‘planners’ see it.
> or that the parties will just find women
> to act as figureheads to fill the quota.
oh no…and imagine if they went
dont we have some brave female figurheads overhere that
October 6th, 2008 at 7:44 pmwe could send them..dont we have some that think iraq is a task from god? SEND THEM!
sorry i didnt finish one of my sentences..
“imagine if they started using women as figureheads just to get votes?”
October 6th, 2008 at 7:44 pm23, 24 – lurker and HusseinToasterHead
Touche’
But you know, I just don’t think that ethnic cleansing was quite what Jesus had in mind. ;-)
October 6th, 2008 at 9:23 pmWhat Bush and Cheney (and the crazed neo-cons) did in invading Iraq in 2003 was unleash a bunch of religious serial killers on Iraqi citizens (at least outside the Kurdish areas), religious serial killers who’ve been terrorizing Iraqi women (and teenage girls) for over five years now.
Women who are afraid to run for office doesn’t even come close to describing a democracy…a theocratic hell, yes…but hardly a freedom-loving, egalitarian democracy, with respect being shown all members of a society, with equal protection under democratic laws.
Iraq is hardly this. In fact, Iraq under Saddam Hussein looked more like a secular democracy than anything we’ve seen since Bush and Cheney (and the crazed neo-cons) launched the illegal attack against Iraq in 2003.
Weep for the women and children of Iraq…and impeach Bush and Cheney NOW. And if not NOW, then impeach them next year so that they’ll NEVER be able to serve in public office again.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:15 pmImpeach, convict, incarcarate.
October 7th, 2008 at 12:29 amBefore they were “liberated” Iraqi women didn’t fear going to the polls, or going out with or without the head covering of their choice, and they were half the professional and collegiate population of the country.
IRAQ WAS A SECULAR NATION—NOT A THEOCRACY.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:57 am