Women in Iraqi Parliament Demand Charter against 'Defamation'

Arab World

April 25th, 8:42am

Baghdad - Fadhel al-Nashmi

Iraqi parliament (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A number of female Iraqi lawmakers are calling for the issuance of laws and charters banning political attacks against women that undermine their honor and defame their reputation. Observers believe that the calls came against the backdrop of rumors claiming that personal videos of female deputies will be published. Kurdish MP Ala Talabani, and head of Coalition of Women MPs, stressed the necessity of adhering to democratic civic values and refraining from attacking the reputation or honor of women candidates during political disputes in the upcoming elections. Speaking before the parliament, Talabani said the Coalition documented the predominance of the patriarchy ideology in dealing with women, noting that women are not allowed to assume leadership positions. Women deputies are targeted whenever they present a different opinion or proposal against the male-dominated society and some outdated values, according to Talabani. She called on the political leaders and parliament to issue a resolution to respect the opinion of the other and abstain from discussing personal affairs, especially those that target women’s honor. Rumors in Baghdad claim that a major “contractor and investor,” currently detained by the Anti-Corruption Committee, is involved in recording personal videos of female parliamentarians. He aims to use the videos to blackmail them and ensure their support in case he is held accountable. Political activist Sabah al-Kinani told a local channel that a lawmaker, whom he refused to name, is fiercely defending the detainee because he has an indecent video that he threatens to leak to the media. Meanwhile, MP of State of Law coalition Alia Nassif warned against the “political projection” saying it targets women’s honor and defames them, noting that this phenomenon is growing, especially as the elections approach. It seems that all the injustice that women have been subjected to in society was not enough, and some who lack honor and conscience defame women simply because they disagree with them, according to Nassif. She claimed that a political party allocated $70,000 to remove her and a number of deputies from office and attack them in the media. Nassif called on the Supreme Judicial Council to consider challenging the honor of a woman a crime punishable by law and issue a charter that affirms the need to respect the opinion of the other, and not to engage in personal matters.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2938501/women-iraqi-parliament-demand-charter-against-defamation