Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Iraqi Women better off now according to Karen Hughes
Is she right ? You be the judge.
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Karen Hughes is the former White House Counsellor and long-time confidante of G.W. Bush. Their association goes back to the days when he was governor of Texas. In July 2005 she was appointed as Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. She is currently on a tour to promote the United States' position on various issues.
Hughes Defends Women's Status in Iraq
By SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press Writer
September 28, 2005, 11:00 AM EDT
ANKARA, Turkey -- The United States' new public relations chief, Karen Hughes, responded to Turkish criticism over the Iraq war by telling women's rights advocates Wednesday that Iraqi women were being treated better now than they were under Saddam Hussein.
That was what she said. The following articles paint a quite different picture.
Iraqi women fear for their rights
By Caroline Hawley
BBC News, Baghdad July 25,2005
Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor
Sunday August 14, 2005
The Observer
"Earlier this year I was in Iraq's second city, Basra, lunching with a group of Iraqi women professionals. It was the time of the elections, and the conversation turned to women's rights. Since the fall of Saddam, the women complained, their freedoms had gradually been eroded, not by official diktat but by groups of Shia radicals who had invaded hospitals, universities and schools, insisting that women wore headscarves and behaved as men saw fit."
Chewing on meaningless words
Haifa Zangana
Wednesday August 17, 2005
The Guardian
"The battle over the constitution is regarded by most Iraqi women, confined to their homes by
the occupation, as an irrelevance.
"Iraqi women were long the most liberated in the Middle East. Occupation has largely confined them to their homes. A typical Iraqi woman's day begins with the struggle to get the basics: electricity, petrol or a cylinder of gas, water, food and medication. It ends with a sigh of relief at surviving death threats and violent attacks. For most women, simply to venture on to the street is to risk being attacked or kidnapped for profit or revenge. Young girls are sold to neighbouring countries for prostitution."
The author of Baghdad Burning (Riverbend blog) has been writing about Iraq since the beginning of the war. Reported to be a young university student, her posts have received a lot of praise in mainstream media both in the USA and abroad.
Baghdad Burning Sept.17, 2005
"Women's rights won't be apparent until the Personal Status Law is defined clearly. Former Iraqi Personal Status Law was the most advanced in the region. It secured advanced rights for Iraqi women."
Hughes Defends Women's Status in Iraq
By SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press Writer
September 28, 2005, 11:00 AM EDT
ANKARA, Turkey -- The United States' new public relations chief, Karen Hughes, responded to Turkish criticism over the Iraq war by telling women's rights advocates Wednesday that Iraqi women were being treated better now than they were under Saddam Hussein.
That was what she said. The following articles paint a quite different picture.
Iraqi women fear for their rights
By Caroline Hawley
BBC News, Baghdad July 25,2005
"Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq had some of the most secular legislation in the region.
But all that could change, with hardline Shia members of the national assembly pushing for the country to be named the Islamic Republic of Iraq."
New dark age for Iraqi womenPeter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor
Sunday August 14, 2005
The Observer
"Earlier this year I was in Iraq's second city, Basra, lunching with a group of Iraqi women professionals. It was the time of the elections, and the conversation turned to women's rights. Since the fall of Saddam, the women complained, their freedoms had gradually been eroded, not by official diktat but by groups of Shia radicals who had invaded hospitals, universities and schools, insisting that women wore headscarves and behaved as men saw fit."
Chewing on meaningless words
Haifa Zangana
Wednesday August 17, 2005
The Guardian
"The battle over the constitution is regarded by most Iraqi women, confined to their homes by
the occupation, as an irrelevance.
"Iraqi women were long the most liberated in the Middle East. Occupation has largely confined them to their homes. A typical Iraqi woman's day begins with the struggle to get the basics: electricity, petrol or a cylinder of gas, water, food and medication. It ends with a sigh of relief at surviving death threats and violent attacks. For most women, simply to venture on to the street is to risk being attacked or kidnapped for profit or revenge. Young girls are sold to neighbouring countries for prostitution."
The author of Baghdad Burning (Riverbend blog) has been writing about Iraq since the beginning of the war. Reported to be a young university student, her posts have received a lot of praise in mainstream media both in the USA and abroad.
Baghdad Burning Sept.17, 2005
"Women's rights won't be apparent until the Personal Status Law is defined clearly. Former Iraqi Personal Status Law was the most advanced in the region. It secured advanced rights for Iraqi women."
