Progress Amid Resistance

IRAQ 183activist was not so lucky. Nahla Hussein, leader of the Kurdish CommunistParty’s women’s league, was found beheaded in her home in the northerncity of Kirkuk in December 2008. 41 Most cases of threats and attacks onactivists, including those with male victims, go unreported and are not in -vestigated by the authorities.All Iraqis, including women, have unrestricted access to online information,but this access has been hampered by the country’s weak infrastructureand the lack of basic services like electricity. Many women cannotafford computers or face other financial barriers. Though women’s NGOsand international partners such as USAID and UNDP have providedcomputer training centers, the priority has been to get women involved inpolitics, the economy, health care, and human rights issues. Iraqi women’sNGOs are trying their best to organize workshops for that purpose, butthe hardships of life in Iraq, and the inability of the government to protectwomen from kidnapping, rape, and murder, has led many women to stayat home.In general, the daily need to secure electricity, water, food, and healthhas made most women in the suburbs and provinces indifferent to politicalparticipation—even if they have acquired political knowledge through thebroadcast media or discussions with male family members. Most have lostfaith in their female representatives and the government, which has failedto fulfill its promises to improve their lives. Women in rural areas are moreisolated and unaware of their civil and political rights, living in closed,conservative communities dominated by family and tribe.RecommendationsF The government should take concrete steps to systematically train andrecruit female judges for service at all levels of the judiciary and in allparts of the country.F The government should elevate the MWSA to a full ministry with anindependent budget and a clear mandate developed in consultationwith women’s NGOs. Its functions should include monitoring otherstate entities and vetting proposed laws and constitutional amendmentsfor possible violations of women’s rights.F The government, in cooperation with local and international NGOs,should integrate the idea of women’s participation in politics throughawareness campaigns and provide capacity-building training for emergingfemale leaders.