insight

And where are the daughters?

This week, Iraqis will be gathered at the polls to vote on a draft of a constitution for their country as it wavers on the edge of civil war. There, in the opening lines of the shaking foundation of Iraq's future, the truth of the Iraqi Constitution is revealed.

"We the sons of Mesopotamia ..."

That's right, folks. Forget the daughters of Mesopotamia-they have all their basic human rights and freedoms secured, courtesy of Coalition forces, right?

Last February, Amnesty International reported that the general status of women in regard to human rights and social freedoms was worse than under Saddam Hussein's rule. Recently, reports have flooded Iraq's local news stations about female students at Mosul and other universities getting attacked with acid and knives for not wearing a headscarf. Since the invasion of 2003, United Nations departments, such as UNIFFEM, have reported a dramatic rise in abductions, gang rapes, honor killings and other gender-motivated crimes.

I would love to think that all of this will come to an end with a magic vote this week. Unfortunately, I am cursed with realistic thought.

As I express my concern about the new constitution of Iraq and its impact on Iraqi women's lives, I generally have Article 47 of the draft, which states: "Voting laws aspire to achieve women's representation on the Council of Representatives of a ratio of not less than a quarter" shoved in my face.

Had this line in the constitution promised that 25 percent of the elected officials in Iraq would be female, I would have to pass a nod off to those that supported such a measure. However, this is not the promise of the constitution as one would notice if they paid attention to one little word-"aspire." There are no promises or legal obligations, just the reassurance that the Council of Representatives will do their darndest.

There is no mention of equal marriage rights in the document, which has the potential to be one of the most powerful laws of Iraq. While numerous clauses suggest gender equality, there is no plan to end the enormous onslaught of violence against women, or the crippling poverty and plague of illnesses that Amnesty International has reported have hit women and children the hardest.

Of course, the United States is there, encouraging equal freedoms for women-are they not? Well, not really. When interviewed by MSNBC's David Gregory, the CIA's former Middle East Specialist, Reual Marc Gerecht, responded to a question regarding the rights of Iraqi women and a stunning moment of Western misogyny was clearly illustrated.

"Actually, I'm not terribly worried about this ... I mean, women's social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy," Gerecht replied.

When the United States invaded Iraq, lengthy promises were made to ensure the freedoms of women. Next week, the sons of Mesopotamia will most likely have their constitution as the daughters are left to be burned, abducted, raped, killed in the name of honor, shot at and unmentioned. Is this liberation or is it hell?