NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

Women's rights seen on decline in Iraq

Women in Iraq's Parliament say they were heartened by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's pledge in a speech before the U.S. Congress last week to improve women's rights.

But they warn that women's rights have declined as the country's security situation has worsened and the influence of fundamentalist Islamists increases.

In a once-secular state, many women now feel they must wear a veil to appease conservatives. Others say they fear offending Islamists' sensibilities by driving. Many say they are threatened regularly for how they dress.

This month in Amariyah, a western Baghdad neighborhood, residents found fliers warning women they would be killed if they drive. A woman's body, her veil still on her head, was found in the neighborhood a few days later. Residents believe she was killed for driving.

Thirty of the Parliament's 275 members have signed a declaration calling for legislators to clarify the rights of women. The legislation was submitted in June, but has yet to be voted on.

The signers said this is not just about women's rights but about how much control religious leaders will have over their government. "These attempts to intimidate women are attempts to terrorize society," said Mithal Alusi, one of the 16 men who signed the declaration.

Source: Multi-National Force-Iraq