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International Women’s Day
March 8 in Baghdad
Although
under veil and Aabaia, big crowds of women gathered in Al Fardawse
Square chanting slogans of freedom and equality for the
International Women’s Day. After decades of marginalisation and
denial of women’s issues, that morning revealed immense potential
and determination to turn a dark scenario into a bright one.
Demands
of a secular and egalitarian constitution were loud and clear among
this crowd. Across the river, in the CPA, 25 members of the
Governing Council, individuals that are hand-picked by the
Americans, were signing a constitution based upon religious, ethnic
and gender divisions leaving millions of women vulnerable to
systemic discrimination and oppression.
The
demonstration of almost 1000 people (mostly women) started at the
OWFI headquarters in streets that were covered with March 8 posters
and slogans. Their children in front of them holding up March 8
posters that showed a silhouette of a woman with her hair blowing
in the wind. Surrounding the women’s demonstration, groups of
guarding men with red bands on their arms protected the demo in
these times of total chaos and random bombings. The guards were
from the only political party supporting OWFI, the Worker-communist
Party of Iraq.
In
spite of receiving 2 death threats via email within the last month,
Yanar Mohammed was leading the demonstration among vigilant women
activists and also side by side with the leaders of the WCPI.
Hadeel, a previous target of honour killing, organized the
mobilization and transportation and masses of hundreds of women.
Sahera took serious steps in assertiveness after throwing the veil
a few months back. She was leading the March chanting the slogans
of Freedom and Equality. The older and politically determined Um
Sabbah accompanied Yanar so closely stressing she will not let
anyone hurt her by any chance on such a great day.
From
every residential complex, came an OWFI activist with one or two
buses full of women outraged by the current women-unfriendly
situation. Um Muhammad, a retired nurse, in her traditional
clothing from Al Huda is a born leader. Her adult sons say she’s
the man of the house. Another Um Muhammad from Al Jihad
neighbourhood, a full-time tailor, is a fashionable woman with a
diplomatic method. She is leading a campaign in her area to oust
the corrupt neighbourhood council member selected by the Americans.
She gathered two busses of women with their children. Lamaan who is
a previous member of the Iraqi Communist Party, is sick and tired
of their compromises about women’s rights. She visited her
friends in the area factories and managed to gather around fifteen
workers. Muna from Al Ansar complex for displaced people, Um
Abdallah and others from other districts…Usually they are called
by their son’s names, where Um Muhammad means the mother of
Muhammad…etc.
Yanar’s
speech emphasized on secularism as a precondition for women’s
freedoms. She stressed on the need to work on a women’s power and
voice that decide the future for Iraq. No more inferiority under
Political Islam that equals four women to one man. The speech also
denounced any attempts by the GC to change International Women’s
Day into another date during the year that is a newly invented
Islamic women’s day. She exposed those attempts as a plot to
isolate Iraqi women from international women’s solidarity, as the
first step of keeping women oppressed by the support of religion
and the pretext of native tradition.
The
following part was a tribute of solidarity and support to the women
employees of banks that were thrown in prisons as a cover-up for
the administrative corruption and failure connected to big fraud
operations handled by officials connected to members of GC.
Yanar
finally announced that OWFI provides the alternative to women
threatened by honour-killing or domestic abuse by taking them into
safe houses. The speech was interrupted many times by slogans of
freedom and putting an end to oppression.
The
next two speeches were for the leaders of the Worker-communist
Party Samir Adil and Muayad Ahmed. Their emphasis was on the
women’s question as one of the main fields of political struggle
among different parties. An arena that reflects their social
aspirations for the masses. “Women’s freedom is the measure of
freedom and humanity in society,” said Muayad Ahmad after an
overview of how the authorities had no connection whatsoever to the
daily aspirations and miseries of women. Samir Adil criticized the
deterioration of women’s status under the Islamist parties who
were given power by the Americans.
Next
in line was the outspoken Liqaa Hamza. She is one of the bank
employees threatened by jail if she does not pay to the government
imaginary amounts of money (equivalent to 20 years of her salary).
Liqaa threatened that if the ministry cannot protect the employees
and the GC does not consider the interest of the citizens, they are
willing to start a general strike that paralyses the economy;
“…and we’ll see what they can do about that!”
The
next part of the event was for the OWFI women’s activists from
all over Baghdad. Five outspoken women from all walks of life had
one point in common. Women are strong … their voices must be
heard … and also an immediate end to all kinds of oppression
against women. They all ended with one single voice: “…this is
OUR day…the International Women’s Day”. A big number of male
guards from the WCPI, with red bands on their arms guarded and
watched every single corner of Al Fardawse Square. At some point,
an Iraqi police personnel tried to walk into the square. He was
questioned and investigated until he showed his official ID to
Fattah and Laith from the WCPI security committee. After making
sure of his name and photo they let him go. Local and foreign media
filled the square at a time that coincided with the signature of
the constitution. One of the correspondents asked Yanar Mohammed:
“ What are your ideas on this signed constitution?” She
answered casually: “ The council that was imposed on Iraqi people
can sign what it chooses… The future, our future, we decide…we
have learnt to organize our ranks. We will not leave our destinies
in their hands”.
Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq