GLOBE EDITORIAL
Women's work in Iraq
11/9/2003
POLITICAL ACTIVIST Ala Talabani proudly shared her collection of photos from an Iraqi women's conference held last month in the northeast border town of Sulaymaniyah. Each snapshot was a freeze-frame of hope, which is so dismally absent in much of the daily news. In that gathering of 250 women, Sunni sat with Shi'ite, dark flowing burkas mingled with bright traditional dress and Western-style suits, and residents of north, south, and central Iraq focused on how they might work together to build a healthy democratic future.
The October meeting was part of the international movement known as "Women Waging Peace," which held its fifth annual colloquium with US policy makers in Cambridge last week. The organization seeks to defuse violence and hate in countries that include Afghanistan, Colombia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Israel, and Palestine.
"We are trying to build bridges between women," said Talabani in an interview at the Globe Thursday. She was accompanied by three compatriots -- Hind Makiya, an educator; Sawsan al-Barak, a former engineer now running a women's center; and Lina Abood, a doctor and teacher.
Working through grass-roots organizations, they are pressing for an Iraqi constitution drafted by women as well as men that includes a section on women's rights. While women have had the right to vote, in practice husbands and brothers have often cast ballots for them.
The women are also seeking a government that separates religion and state and makes women -- about 55 percent of the population -- equal partners in running the country.
They say crafting that kind of democracy cannot be rushed, and they rightly worry that US pressure to write a constitution in six months might allow conservative religious elements to hold sway. They say Iraqis fear that US presidential politics might cause the United States to pull out too soon.
"There's a sense of panic about the road map," said Makiya. "Conditions and times and deadlines might adversely influence the results. People need to feel free to participate." Here's hoping Washington gets the message when the Iraqi women talk with officials at the departments of State and Defense this week.
Policy makers in the United States and embattled political factions around the world could find inspiration in these women reaching across the divides. Even as they sat around a table in a newspaper office thrashing out some of their sharply differing views, they kept their focus on unity and the shared ravages of war.
"Women are the peace makers," said Makiya. "They're pragmatic. They look their enemy in the eye and talk."
Put it on a bumper sticker and drive it around the planet. Put it on a bumper sticker and drive it around the planet.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
