Free to be illiberal
Iraqi society is tribal, Islamic and very conservative. Most people don't feel ownership to the existing secular famiily law, and we must change it to follow shari'a. Forcing secularism on our society is also a form of dictatorship.
-- Women's rights activist Fatima Yaqoub, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal's Farnaz Fassihi
First, a word of explication. Iraq's "existing secular family law" dates from 1959, and was--and in many ways still is--one of the most progressive, pro-feminist statutes promulgated by any Middle Eastern government.
Second, we should not be surprised by Ms. Yaqoub's sentiments. There are many feminists in Iraq who believe the Koran, and shari'a law, are the proper avenues for women's liberation. Some argue that Islam provides women distinct rights which counter the patriarchal customs of tribalism. Others--Ms. Yaqoub apparently among them--believe that women must not contravene Islamic law and, by extension, Allah. Western reporters have tended to ignore voices like these, because they don't fit our concept of "feminism": how can a woman be both for women's rights and affirm shari'a? But there are many Iraqi women who agree with Ms. Yaqoub, more than we think, or wish.
Third, Mr. Fassihi puts his reportorial finger on an important point when he writes
Shiite politicians are already seeking ways to dampen opposition to changing family laws. Some politicial analysts say the Kurds may look the other way if the constitution guarantees them continued autonomy. Shiites also have said they would support exemptions for religious minorities such as Christians.
In other words, the Shiites seem ready to bargain away many chits in return for their right to control the lives of Muslim women. It is that important to them. As I've argued before, we face a situation similar to the Reconstruction Era when, in order to assure nationwide stability and expedite the end of an unpopular occupation, the North abandoned the Abolitionist cause and allowed the South to re-enslave its black citizens. No doubt Washington will look the other way again. African-Americans were expendable over a century ago; today, in another time, and another land, it is women. But the result is the same. In the name of order and stability, freedom for an entire class of people will be deferred for an indefinite period of time--or until the next revolution occurs.
Let's close with another quote from the redoubtable Ms. Yaqoub, as she explains the advice she gave a young Iraqi woman::
I told her that our country has had three wars and there are not enough men for every woman to marry. So she should not be so selfish and share her husband like a good Muslim wife. I reminded her that God had allowed men to take more than one wife and you don't defy God's orders.
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