See Jane's Magical Mystery Tour
By Kathleen Parker,
Orlando Sentinel
July 27, 2005
If Fonda and other celebrities want to attach their names to something constructive, they might join the Independent Women's Forum (iwf.org) in trying to advance the status of women in Iraq and, ultimately, throughout the Middle East.
IWF members meet regularly with Iraqi women, both in the United States and abroad, to teach them the principles of democracy and equal rights. Their critically important work is based on the understanding that democracy and freedom are the antidote to terrorism, and that women's (and other minority) rights are fundamental to the ultimate cure.
At this precarious moment, as terrorists gain momentum from successful hits in Britain, Lebanon, Egypt and elsewhere, Iraq's working-draft constitution leaves much to be desired. Of greatest concern is a section that leaves personal matters -- marriage, divorce and inheritance -- to whatever religious law is practiced by the family's sect.
Women are equal, in other words, as long as their rights don't violate Shariah, or Quranic law. What this could mean for Iraqi women is on vivid display in places where Islamic law rules.
A few days ago, for example, a woman in an Indian village who was raped by her father-in-law was forced to nullify her marriage, marry the rapist, and act as mother to her former husband. This mind-numbing fatwa was issued by South Asia's most powerful theological school, according to
The Washington Times.
Before the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi men and women were almost equal. Except for those chosen especially for rape by Saddam's sons and their henchmen, women faced only the same tortures as men. Now, they may face diminished status under a constitution that, as proposed, contradicts democratic principles of equality and freedom.
The Iraqi parliament has until Aug. 15 to adopt a draft constitution, which then faces a nationwide referendum by mid-October. If the women lose, we all lose.
Now there's a cause for feminists and Fondas alike. If we want to end the war in Iraq, a sound, woman-friendly constitution is at least part of the answer. To that end, Michelle Bernard, the IWF senior vice president who runs the democratic outreach program to Iraqi women, says she'd be happy to accept Fonda's check.
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