The Status of Women in Iraq: An Assessment of Iraq's De Jure and ...

I L D P
Iraq Legal Development Project
The Status of Women in Iraq:
An Assessment of Iraq’s
De Jure and De Facto
Compliance with
International Legal Standards
July 2005

---

© American Bar Association 2005
The statements and analysis contained herein are the work of the American Bar Association’s Iraq Legal
Development Project (ABA/ILDP), which is solely responsible for its content. The Board of Governors of
the American Bar Association has neither reviewed nor sanctioned its contents. Accordingly, the views
expressed herein should not be construed as representing the policy of the ABA/ILDP. Furthermore, noth-
ing contained in this report is to be considered rendering legal advice for specific cases, and readers are
responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel. This publication was made possible
through support provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development through the National Demo-
cratic Institute. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the
view of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

---

Acknowledgements

This Assessment has been prepared through the cooperation of individuals and organizations
working throughout Iraq as well as in Amman, Jordan and Washington DC.

Many individuals worked tirelessly to make this report thorough, accurate, and truly reflective
of the realities in Iraq and its sub-regions.

Special mention should be made to the following individuals (in alphabetical order):


Authors

The ABA wishes to recognize the achievements of the staff of the ABA-Iraq Legal Development
Project who authored this report: Kelly Fleck, Sawsan Gharaibeh, Aline Matta and Yasmine
Rassam.

De Jure and De Facto Survey Contributors

The ABA wishes to express its utmost gratitude to all survey respondents, interviewees,
government officials, and technical experts throughout Iraq who have provided their candid
views on the status of women.

In relation to the preparation of legal materials for this survey, special thanks must go to Faiza
Babakhan, former legal adviser for the Ministry of State for Women’s Affairs and attorney Sarab
Hassan for their research and expert advice on Iraqi law.

Special thanks must also be given to Hanaa Edwar for her personal contributions to the
substance of this Assessment and her leadership and commitment in managing the compilation
of over 70 surveys from 16 provinces in Iraq.

The ABA is also extremely grateful to the organizations and individuals who generously shared
their data and other research materials including Mr. Alaa Alwan and the Al Amal
Organization.

Staff and Experts

The ABA wishes to thank Lamis Nasser and Lori Mann for their input regarding the
international treaty framework and for moderating the workshop on De Jure survey
methodology. The ABA also thanks Dr. Afaf Marie for conducting the training of trainers for
the De Facto survey.

Special thanks must also be given to the following group for their critical analysis and expert
advice on the first draft of the Assessment, which resulted in significant improvements on the
original work: Ansam Abdul Hameed, Faiza Babakhan, Kamil Al-Chadirji, Hanaa Edwar, Huda
Al Dujaili, Dr. Raja’a Al Khuzai, Jinan Mubarak, and Lamis Nasser.

---

This Assessment benefited greatly from the proofing and editorial efforts of Khaled Beydoun,
Rohan Burdett, Jennifer Denton and Frank McLoughlin (English version) and Marouf Shweikeh
(Arabic version).

The ABA sincerely thanks the ABA-ILDP staff in Jordan who continue to provide support to all
aspects of this project and who have been critical to the completion of this Assessment, in
particular, Lina Arafat, May Al-Khateeb, Ghada Moraly and Ayman Al Mohissin.

The Arabic translation of this assessment was completed by Ayyam Safady, Hassan Krimeed,
and Mueen Issa.


Financial Support

Finally, ABA/ILDP wishes to thank the National Democratic Institute and the United States
Agency for International Development for their financial support to this project.


American Bar Association 2005

---

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Women’s Rights in Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination Under International Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION, CIVIL SOCIETY AND WOMEN IN DECISION MAKING . . . . . . . . 7
International Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
De Jure Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Quota System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Civil Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
De Facto Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Women’s Political Participation Under the Ba’ath Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Women’s Political Participation Under the Coalition Provisional Authority . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Women’s Representation in the Interim Iraqi Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Women’s Participation in the January 2005 Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Women‘s Representation in the Transitional Government of Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Current Factors Impacting Women’s Political Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Women’s Participation in Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society . . . . . . . . 13
Key Areas of Concern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Political Participation - International Treaty Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
HEALTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
International Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
De Jure Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
De Facto Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Current Situation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Barriers to Women’s Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Reproductive and Maternal Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Other Threats to Women’s Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i

---

Key Areas of Concern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Health - International Treaty Framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND THE RIGHT TO PERSONAL SECURITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
International Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
International Definitions of Violence Against Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
State Responsibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
De Jure Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Rape and Sexual Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Kidnapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Murder and Mitigating Circumstances - Honor Crimes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Prostitution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Domestic Violence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Female Genital Cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
De Facto Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Rape and Sexual Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Kidnapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Honor Crimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Female Genital Cutting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Domestic Violence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Trafficking and Prostitution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Other Forms of Violence Against Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Availability of Protection and the State’s Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Key Areas of Concern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Violence Against Women - International Treaty Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
FAMILY AND MARRIAGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
International Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
De Jure Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
The Evolution of the Personal Status Code in Iraq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Family and Marriage Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Consent, Age and Marriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Polygamy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Marriage to Non-Muslims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Financial Rights during Marriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Divorce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Custodianship and Guardianship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Financial Rights after Marriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
De Facto Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Freedom to Choose a Spouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Minimum Age of Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
ii
THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN IRAQ: AN ASSESSMENT OF IRAQ’S DE JURE AND DE FACTO COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STANDARDS

---

Customary Practices in Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Pleasure Marriage (Mut’a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Termination of Forced Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Divorce and Annulment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Polygamy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Inheritance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Custody. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Marital Alimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Freedom of Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Residence and Domicile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Key Areas of Concern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Family and Marriage - International Treaty Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
NATIONALITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
International Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
De Jure Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Conferral of Nationality to Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Nationality by Marriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Forced Nationality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Property Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
De Facto Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Key Areas of Concern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Nationality - International Treaty Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
EDUCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
International Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
De Jure Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
The Right to Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Compulsory Primary Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Objective of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
De Facto Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Barriers to Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Other Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Key Areas of Concern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Education - International Treaty Framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
LABOR AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
International Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
De Jure Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Right to Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Conditions of Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
TABLE OF CONTENTS
iii

---

Maternity Entitlements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Labor Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Excluded Sectors and Excluded Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Social Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Other Economic Rights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
De Facto Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Societal Norms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Disparity in Education Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Female-headed Households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Social Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Rural Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Key Areas of Concern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Labor and Economic Rights - International Treaty Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
COMPLETE LIST OF KEY AREAS OF CONCERN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
ACRONYMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
iv
THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN IRAQ: AN ASSESSMENT OF IRAQ’S DE JURE AND DE FACTO COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STANDARDS

---

PREFACE
This Assessment measures Iraq’s compliance with internationally accepted standards of gender
equality as outlined in core international human rights law instruments to which Iraq is a party.
The international human rights framework is an interconnected network of laws and principles that
serve as guidelines for ensuring human dignity and a universally equal society. Human rights were
defined gradually over several decades through the drafting, signing and ratification of international
legal instruments to which governments made commitments and undertook obligations.
International human rights law is largely based upon the principles set out in the Universal Declara-
tion of Human Rights (UDHR), as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the latter
two of which Iraq ratified in 1971. These two Covenants codified the principles articulated in the
UDHR.
Other key human rights instruments have been formulated, signed and ratified by Member States
based on the foundation of the UDHR, ICCPR and the ICESCR. These include the International Con-
vention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which Iraq ratified in 1970,
and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) acceded to in 1994. The Assessment also looks
at other conventions and declarations as they apply to individual subject areas, such as The Conven-
tion against Discrimination in Education, signed by Iraq in 1977, and the UN Declaration on the Elim-
ination of Violence Against Women, passed by the General Assembly in 1994.
The most prominent human rights instrument on women’s equality is the Convention on the Elimi-
nation of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Iraq acceded to in 1986.
CEDAW was opened for signature in 1979, and since then has been adopted by 180 countries. CEDAW
espouses values and legal obligations for women’s human rights that, because of the treaty’s wide-
spread adoption around the world, have become universal. They are not characteristic of the customs,
traditions or values of any one particular set of countries, but instead are basic tenets of equality that
have been adopted by the world community.
International human rights treaty law broadly covers and ensures women’s participation in a variety
of arenas including political representation, education, health care, economic rights, rural concerns,
employment, and marriage/family relations. Many of the subjects addressed by the treaties are areas
of concern for both men and women in Iraq. It should be noted that focusing attention on compliance
with international law in relation to women’s human rights does not mean that men do not also suf-
fer from the failure of the Iraqi health care system, for example, or that they are not also entitled to
safe workplaces. Most of the areas of concern which are elaborated on in this assessment would, if
addressed, improve the quality of life of all people in Iraq.
PREFACE
v

---

By acceding to numerous international conventions, Iraq voluntarily obligated itself to comply with
the requirements and initiatives that are imposed on States Parties. These include not only measures
to eliminate and prevent discrimination, but also proactive measures designed to promote equality
between men and women and to change the culture of gender in signatory states.
vi
THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN IRAQ: AN ASSESSMENT OF IRAQ’S DE JURE AND DE FACTO COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL LEGAL STANDARDS

---