Feministic Claims and to Do Injustice to the Afghan and Iraqi Women

Chapter 1: Feministic Inclinations:

In contrast to the dominant views in the west which are mainly against women, feminists have found some texts about the rights of women which date back to the 14th century. Europe witnessed one of it major changes throughout its history during the 18th century; in consequence of the events that happened from 1789 until 1799 in France and which is known as "French Great Revolution", the monarchy died away and Republic government took its place. National Council Parliament was formed and the French bill of human rights was compiled. But the interesting point is that the equality of human rights indicated in that bill excluded women. This announcement was only the rights of men and it was encountered with the protests of the revolutionary women of France.
After the French revolution, writers such as Koundourse and Saint Simon continued their discussions over the rights of women. The origins of Feminism as a social and political movement refer back to the 19th c. It was during this time that the term Feminism was used to refer to the supporters of the rights of men and women. The word Feminism is used in England, Germany and France with a little bit difference from each other. During the last decades of the 19th C. the movements in support of women have been become international and the European women discussed their most important debates in different gatherings. After giving the suffrage solely to the men of France, Germany and Switzerland and other countries during 1870s, the differences have become more noticeable. Until 1900, most of the Feminists were convinced that the only way to achieve equal rights is getting the right of voting at the first stage.
In England, Feminist movement started at the efforts of Miss. Punk Hurst and paved the way for women to get the right of voting in 1918. American women got their suffrage in 1920.
Historically the evolution of Feminism is divided in to two basic stages: The first stage is from the beginning of the 19th C. till a little bit after the First World War i. e. 1920. The characteristic of the first wave of Feminism was to get equal social and political rights, especial to have the rights to vote. Feministic movements were weakening and there was no noticeable movement until after the Second World War. It was after the Second World War that Simone de Beauvoir (1908) took a leading role in the feministic movements after the publication of The Second Sex (1949) and this very book paved the way for the formation of the Radical Feminism in the feminist history.

The Branches of Feminism:

The feministic attitudes and inclinations are so various and different that the western researchers have used the word Feminisms instead of the Feminism. Its is as if the differences among these groups and inclinations are so much that they are too different from each other to find any similarity. It should be said that although the feminist are different in their basic idea but they have two things in common and held the same view points: First: women's needs are left unnoticed due to their gender and are subject of bias and the second is that: this bias should be no more available and it is necessary that the existent economical, social and political systems, which are the main causes of inequality, be improved. The reasons why feministic ideas are so various and disperse can be highlighted when the answers of the following two questions are clearly mentioned: 1. how the subjugation of women is analyzed? 2. What are the general suggestions to improve the conditions of women? Therefore, different movements interpret the subjugation and the lower states of women according to their own teachings and ideas. Herby we can refer to 5 major branches of feminism which have different answers to these two major questions:

1. Liberal feminism:

The liberal feminists are the oldest group of feminism and now are only a minority. In answering the first question they believe it is the biased sexual roles that women take and accepted beliefs about the difference in gender and social interaction that make women different from men and hence the differences. Therefore, the liberals are opposed to the cliché roles in the family and society. Influenced by the liberal ideas, this group bases its discussion on the freedom of activities. Enjoyment and self satisfaction in the families; they are pessimist about the roles of women as mothers and wives in the traditional families because they restrict family inclinations; they do not consider women's tasks at home as work and they consider it cruel and oppressive.
In answering the second question they believe that by altering the laws and social and political structures they can achieve equal rights. Their ideal is the formation of a society the members of which are sexually male and female. But the one in which the male and female differences are not shown to be too outstanding. Among the older advocates of this group one can refer to Harriet Tailor and of the new liberal feminist Betty Freidan, the author of "the secrets of Femininity" as the prime example.

2. Marxist Feminists:

Karl Marx and Friedrich Angels are the founders of the Marxist ideas in the 19th C. Their debates are mainly about the role of the class differences and the revolution in the means of production in the social and cultural changes. In Marxist ideas the compliance of women toward men is regarded to have its origin in the economy and it is not, in their ideas, based on the biology of women. According to this theory family is nothing more than a system formed of the dominant and the dominated systems that the capitalistic system has imposed on man. Marx insisted that the free nature of human beings will be satisfied only when capitalism is changed and the equality between the genders is set. So it is necessary that a revolution be and by deteriorating capitalism pave the way for the establishment of the equal rights and equality. Therefore men and women have fight with capitalism and class differences and follow the subjugation of women until capitalism is overthrown. In Marx and Angels' ideas family is the first social entity in which one can see the unequal division of work based on efficiency and this has to be eradicated. So they suggest the decapitation of the family in the common form of it and the establishment of the common institutes every task, including house chores and taking care of the children, is considered to be the duty of both sexes. Briefly, the early Marxists in answering the first question consider the economical changes to be the main reason for the inferiority of women and to answer the second one they believe that economical revolution and negation of capitalism are the main causes of setting women free.

3. Radical Feminism:

This group believes that every social institution in the society is a system by the use of which some human beings dominate the other human beings and do injustice to them but among all the authoritative oppressions such as class differences, ethical religious, racial, and sexual, the sexual structure is the most oppressive one and it is called patriarchy. Simone de Beauvoir is the most well – know character of this group who believes that: Any human being is not created male or female rather they accumulate male or female identity throughout their lives and the physiologic differences between men and women differentiates them from one another only biologically and the other differences, such as conceptual, spiritual, and viewpoints and talents are the results of social and historical interactions.
The radical feminists, unlike the liberal feminists who attributed the reason for the inequality of men and women to the injustice laws as discussed above, believed that the inequality of men and women has its deeper roots in the beliefs and cultures of nations and revolution in the laws will prove void and transient ointment on the injuries of women unless it is conducted in the inner most part of the culture. Therefore equality in a society which is full of cultural and social inequality will have no effect. Therefore in answering the first question the radical feminists consider the male sexual injustice as the main and major cause of oppression and inequality between man and women in the society. They believe that marriage and forming family are the basic causes for the continuation, development and persistence of the patriarchy which is regarded as the main cause of women's misfortune and common perversion. The ideal of the radical feminists is creating and establishment of society which is sexless; in this way the ideal of human beings, is the ideal of women but this woman has to be not under the authority of a patriarch.
But in answering the second question, they make a suggestion and it is: equality is possible only when the female protest and decapitate the patriarchy. If women are considered to be the members of a class they have to be organized and revolt against their common oppressor, males, who have oppressed them for centuries. Therefore organized political revolt against the domination of males both in the social and common fields and in the private and familial fields is necessary; they consider the establishment of the independent organizations as the best way to organize their protest and fulfill it. So far as marriage and family are the major causes of dominating women they advise women to satisfy their sexual needs out of marriage and family ties; therefore free cohabitation with the opposite sex or the same sex (homosexuality) in which there are no necessities on their relations (in marriage and family relationships there are some limitation) are suggested. Some have gone further and believe that in order to gain success in this way it is necessary to decrease sexual relations with the opposite sex and try to satisfy this need in homosexuality.

4. Social Feminism:

Social feminism is an approach that has come in to being in 1970s as a result of combining Feminist Marxism and Radical feminism. The theorist of this approach believed that they were to accept the best views of these two approaches and acquit themselves from each of them. In their ideas both patriarchy and capitalism have been effective and have had major roles in oppressing and dominating women; therefore patriarchic capitalism is the best term to explain the roots of cruelty and injustice to women.
Therefore it is not sufficient to point out to the problem of women's compliance of men in the economical area and it is necessary to continue the war at home too and in order to achieve this goal it is necessary to change education, work, taking care of the children and other issues.
Therefore the social feminists, in answering the first question, believe that the subjugation and inferior state of women are because of the economical and patriarchal systems and in a response for the second question they believe that it is necessary to conduct sexual wars in addition to class struggles. Of the most important theorists of this group one can refer to Heidi Hartman.

5. Post Modernist Feminism:

During the past few decades we have witnessed some revolutions in thought which have come to be called Post Modernism. Relativity is the most important characteristic of this school of thought. On this basis they believe the Post Modern Theorists of feminism do not accept that there is an absolute or objective reality which might be understood by the use of enlightenment concepts such as wisdom and cognition. From this stand point any schools of thought which claim that they understand+d reality in its total and complete form (liberalism, Marxism, Socialism, or Nationalism) are not only fake but also leads its advocates astray. Post modernists say reality is too complicated to be understood by a single approach; they reject trying to establish a special kind of feminism because women have different approaches to understand each other and themselves. Therefore there is no single method of feminism that can be applied to all women inasmuch as understanding a person needs a special kind of feminism. Therefore it can be said that there are as many feminisms as there the number of women. In this culture every society has native answers for its problems that should be understood in the light of that special culture. The problems of Afghan and Iraqi women are different from those of the American and Canadian women. Therefore it is necessary that women in different conditions and territories find different ways to fight against patriarchy which is regarded as the gossips and barbarity of the infancy of human beings.
The entrance of such a woman in to society has damaged the family in addition to the ethical and cultural perversion in a way that those who are sympathetic toward those countries are now mourn about the deterioration of the families which are the base of love and friendship in the families. After the families are broken and the interest and love of the family members toward their fathers and mothers as well as each other decreased, the children would be bewildered and bereft of their fathers and mothers' love, they enter the society and each of them and some will get at aimlessness of their lives.
The managers of these plans and these stage managers have founded a society in which father, mother and children are strangers and each of them works individually so that capitalism flourish and remain stable; of course there some people who was in fairly welfare. In such a system what is important and is considered as a goal is working and performing one's duties. There is nothing as spiritual or emotional needs because most of these needs have been left to oblivion. In such a system women are more at disadvantage in comparison to men. Because in such a system women are farther from their nature and being; it is better to be said that they are kept farther. In this system women are cheaper working forces for exploitive men who exempt themselves from taking responsibility for their livings, managing the family affairs, wives and children; they have achieved their main goal which is sexually exploiting women at the extremes. Of course they have made use of some women characteristics by their deep understanding of women's interests in self absorption, and in this way they took the advantage of women and played with them as dolls. They have made her the star of the films, famous advertising figure for companies and organizations; they have done all these with the slogan of "freedom for women" and "equality of men and women".

Women as Business Materials:
It is a misfortune that women are now exchanged as a trade material in the cultured Europe. In Hungary a smuggler can be an infant child at the price of a second - handed car that is at $ 900 then he is able to sell her at $ 2700 to one of the corrupted centers in Paris or Amsterdam where the owner leases her and gets several as much as money he paid to buy her. One of the London Police men says on this issue: The women trade is going to be proliferated because it is almost without any risk on one hand and it is advantageous on the other. Trading drugs is profitable but it is dangerous and becomes more dangerous day after days and it is possible that the felon be taken into prison for 20 years. But it is very easy and very advantageous to trade women especially when they are brought from the east of Europe by cars for they are not forced to pay for the plane expenses.
According to the reports of the International Association of Migration there are thousands of women who are exchanged every year. The method is that women are informed by their friends or newspaper announcements that they can work in different Western European countries as dancers or workers in the dancing houses. For this work to get it is not necessary that one know language of the target country. They are informed that they would get good payment and even working license. The general secretariat of the International Association of Migration has said that: The Russian women come from the borders of Poland; they can get identification documents and touristy visas. For other women they issue artist or dancer visas.

As it is clear in the modern age of ignorance women not only did not release from oppression and depression by the fake slogans but also they become poorer and poorer in some respects. If women were dominated and exploited obviously, they are now left far from their identity and have become worthless trade materials as a result of Democracy, freedom and equal rights for women. In the past women were under the oppression of their husbands but now they are under the oppressions of many men.

The third Part: Oppression and Injustice toward Afghan Women:

Neither Afghan Women Have Neither Names nor Beautiful faces

“Until when, should we be calm? Until the time when we, our country, our democracy, and the condition of our women in the society are made better; it is then that we can open our mouths”? This is the speeches of Fataneh Guilani, an adult woman who is a member of the “Looieh Jargeh”? (the biggest council for laying laws in Afghanistan). In a meeting that was held last year to compile the constitution laws of the “Looieh Jargeh”?, she shouted on the attending men and requested that they be punished for the crimes they did during the past years. Afterwards her microphone was put off and she was threatened to death.
In this way the freedom of Afghanistan from Taliban is not limited to taking or giving them titles which have made them world figures sometimes in the past. Although this is clear worldwide that their aim in bringing Taliban to power was to show a very cruel and backward from Islam to undermine the developing and progressive Islam in the Islamic Republic of Iran. After it was made apparent that the Taliban did what ever cruel deeds they wanted on the Afghan women, the Bourgeois mass media started to distribute propaganda that one of the American leaders is inclined to liberate Afghan women. Bush and his companion Blair started to send their wives to different places to speak about the necessity of putting an end to the cruelty and even stopping the injustices that are done to the Afghan women. These are the same people who have created the backward and awkward Taliban and their servants in Pakistan and brought them to power in Afghanistan. Discovering the cover cruelties that the Afghan women suffered at the hands of the Taliban is not only deceiving but also a critic al crime.
Fighting with Afghanistan the continuation of which is to fight in other parts of the world showed once more obviously that the chains with which they held women captive are similar to those with which the World Imperialism has held the other nations’ population in their own hands. This is a very frightening lie that despite their cruel and oppressive as well as hateful manners (Terrorist war on any one who is against their advantages) the Imperialism can bring developments to the poor women. Such suppositions make reality dim and strengthen women’s chains and empowering of Bush and his allies. In fact America and the other exploitive nations are walking on a long and bloody street of exploitation. America will decapitate any country it does not like or does not accord with its plans. In order to get the highest percentage of profits they employ women workers at very low prices. The American army takes the advantage of the native women wherever they go to conduct military operations. Among these women who suffered from the sexual rapes, are Korean women, Panamanian Women, Thai Women and even women from Oki Nava. Yes, these cases show that how much America is concerned with the improvement of women condition. You can ask the Philippine women who they fill about the American soldier.
The picture that is shown and maximize about the Afghan woman is more than to escape from the traditional limitations. It is as if the Afghan society has never been encountered with aggression and killing in great numbers on the part of Russia, Military activities, wandering, hunger, and deaths of many women and children who have died of dearth of hunger and medicine and their most vital needs are now created by the Taliban who are the representatives of themselves. It is easy that the western Imperialism sends several dollars to repair the broken windows of the schools. It is possible that some girls study in those schools but today their interest in equality of women is no more than yesterday when they admitted the dead women, children and the civilians are the lawful consequences, or the inevitable lost of the war. America intends to bring this area and the other ones which are instable under its control. They shamelessly attack countries and scatter propaganda and murmur in the ears of those who might have interest in these things: their Imperialistic regimes do these cruel deeds and they can bring democratic rights and progression for all those who under suppressions. Democratic rights and development for those people whose terrible and disastrous conditions are the results of their imperialism and their native spies. Those who are eagerly supporting the Afghans’ protests should know that the first thing that they have to do is revealing the deceptions of the imperialists and fighting against their attacks on the world nations. Therefore it is vital not to let cruel deeds of people like Bush and Blair to happen again and to hide their bloody hands under the cover of “freeing Afghan Women”?.
American Bombs and Britain Commandos killed thousands of Afghan women whom they promised to rescue. These bombs were not intended to be thrown on the Semi – Feudal buildings and even if they intended they could not do any thing. It is only women and the semi – democratic people of Afghanistan who can get rid of the chains that are pressing women’s throats and this semi – feudal system and change / alter the social interactions. It is only they who can uproot the semi feudal system completely and kick out the Imperialists who are taking care of such a terrible system because they keep their advantages.
It is easy to change the things superficially.
Vida Safdazi a twenty five years old lady who is now settled in the United States has taken part in the Miss. World contest. Habibeh Sarabi, the minister of women’s affairs in Afghanistan has criticized Vida for her deed because in some parts of this contest the participants have to swim with swim suits. She said it is contrary to the Afghan culture to appear in front of the others while wearing swim suits. The freedom of women and should be in accordance with the afghan culture and Islamic values and it has no record ever that an Afghan girl take part in this contest.

Islamic Criteria instead of International Criteria

Instead of what is known as the equality of men and women in the international debates in all domains, Islam considers this equality as balance between men and women. In a society like that of Afghanistan that has been ravaged for many years because of the world powers’ attacks, it is necessary to pay careful attention to the major and basic problems instead of conducting advertisement and slogans to save women just for the sake of getting state positions.
Most of the women now prefer to use Bargha (a cloth with which they usually cover their faces) which they have accepted traditionally and this had no relation with Islam. Afghanistan is still a rural country. This feeling that women would be free and without covers did not came to be true. Families are now encouraging their girls to wear their clothes as they did before; generally people think that this clothes are better. In fact Bargha shows the culture and immunity of Afghan people. The traditions are now deep rooted on one hand and on the other hand in spite of political and social alterations after Taliban there is a sense of insecurity in the afghan society. Religious teachings have no relation to the fighters, communists, and Taliban. Even now women turn their faces when they see a man is passing in the ally or in their fronts. In Kabul women wear clothes at their will and attend societies as well as execute T. V. Programs. In Mazar Shariff are there no limitations in TV, Radio, and associations; they are free to choose their clothes but the case is different in Ghandahar. In this city you can never see the presence of women in the allies and Bazzar. But there is a lot of dances and music seen in the TV and Radio programs broadcasted in the city. This point must clarify the point that achieving superficial and seeming freedom is easier than the basic and real freedom.
In Herat the case is different, too. Women freely and traditionally avoid participating in the associations and gatherings in which men are present, although there is no prevention on the part of the governor of Herat for the presence of women in such communities. The women clothing are mostly those which cover all their bodies including their faces. The presence of women in the Heart TV is lesser. Showing women music and dancing are absolutely prohibited to show foreign films in which women took roles unless they are Iranian Films.

Chapter 4: Doing Injustice to the Iraqi Women:

A Report on the Bothering and persecution of the women and children held prisoner in Abu Ghoreib Prsison: Yellow Times News May 10th 2004 Translated by A. Anahita

According to the report of the great Britain officer if Human rights, Anne Clued, an Iraqi woman who is aged 70 years has been held prisoner for 6 weeks and has been tortured by the American Soldiers. Clued tells a Britain Newspaper: The get hold of an old women; they made her lay on her stomach and an American Soldier walks on her back". The Algeiran reporter who has been captured by the American forces in November while collecting news for his report base, Independent, has spent 2 months in Abu Ghoreib prison and participated in an interview; hw whose name is Elbaz says that he has seen the scene of hitting an Iraqi female youngster by the American in the Abu Ghoreib prison. "it was about midnight when the American soldiers brought a 12 year old girl barely who was shouting that they have beat him; her brother was also in the next cell of he prison and was just able to hear the mourning of his sister. This affected us very much; because this girl was only a child." Elbaz continues and states that he has been the witness of seeing a 15 year old boy who was being beaten with his father. "They used to exhibit the torture pictures in a contest and the one that was the most disastrous and terrible would win the contest and it was stuck on the walls and it was made the screen savers of all the lap tops they had with them".
So far the news that have been released about the persecution of Iraqi women and children who are held in prison by the American Soldiers in Abu Ghorieb was restricted. Lately it is announced that there are films and photos of the bare men and women in prison, the raping of an Iraqi woman by the American soldier. According to N. B. C. news base the American Army has confirmed the existence of films in which Iraqi young boys have been raped.
Hearing these, one can get a dim picture about how the Iraqi men and women
Are persecuted by the American soldiers; on the 12th of April the Denver Post has published news on the sexual persecution of the women soldiers by their men colleagues. According to this news base, all of these cases do not belong to the American male soldiers who have sexually persecuted their female colleagues rather there is one of the supreme men of the American army who has been punished for $ 500 and his rank came down due to raping an Iraqi woman. For an American soldier who has persecuted an Iraqi boy repeatedly, they only held a military court without announcing it; they held it in silence. For the Iraqi women it is very hard to be sexually raped.

May 12th 2004 Los Angeles Times:
According to a report from Trace Wilkinson, it is not yet clear that how many women have been persecuted sexually in the Abu Ghoreib prison. But certainly those who have been sexually raped will suffer an everlasting shame and there is the possibility that they are killed by one of the men of their families. A woman has told to one of her lawyers that the soldiers forced her to take off her clothes in front of the male soldiers. Another one says that he was raped so much so that she was become unconscious.
The American Army has confirmed the sexual bothering of a woman held in prison in Abu Ghoreib. The pentagon spokesman announced the existence of 1200 pictures which are about the persecution of women in the Abu Ghoreib and which have not been authorized to be published. Most of the Iraqi people believe that sexual persecution of women in the prisons which are run by the American is something very common. The imprisoned women, because of the fear that they would be ostracized in the society, would never confess that they were persecuted sexually because being held in prison and sexual tortures are what is considered shameful for the families therefore they never confess these things.

Raja Habib Khavazi who is specialist on women and pregnancy and who is one of the three women who is a member of the government council of Iraq says: there are some women in Iraq who try to get the details of the women persecution in the Abu Ghoreib Prison and other prisons of the American in Iraq. They believe that most of the women would talk about this issue."
A group of women lawyers have gone to the Abu Ghoreib prison to meet the prisoners; they says that the prisoners told them that persecution and bothering as well as belittling behaviors are very rife in the prison. 4 women of the nine female prisoners, to meet whom the lawyers had to wait for long hours, claim that their crime has not been specifies; one of the prisoners told the lawyers that it was too difficult for these women to talk about their experiences in the prison.

We could not talk to them freely; they were damaged and they were crying when the spoke.
One of the imprisoned women talks easily; according to one of the lawyer of the adult women she has talked at ease and has said: it is not important for her to be punished by the soldiers. She says to the lawyers that the soldiers have made her take off her clothes. At this time the Iraqi translator who was there in the room turned his head because of shame.

It was very common to talk about the sexual and physical persecution of women. The lawyers and the Iraqi soldiers were telling that the American soldiers and the Secret Service of the government have prepared the condition that makes it easily possible to persecute the prisoners. Janebi says: most women are not able to talk about what happened in the prison during their sentence period. They along with their families try show off that nothing has happened.
One of the other lawyers named Amoul Saudi says that her client was unconscious after being raped and injured by the American soldiers. Five Iraqi who were imprisoned before have told their lawyers that they were beaten but they are not raped. Janebi says: they are ashamed very much. These women say: we can not explain anything to you … we have family we can not talk about the events that have happened in the prison. Janebi says: these women consider silence their best protection.

According to a report by Susan Goldenberg a member of the Middle East Guardian Press, the crime and punishment regime is about to be exploded in the calmest areas of Iraq and sheltered women to the inner part of the house. Police has told Susan Goldenberg who was sending reports from Baghdad to Guardian that the worth of the women who are stolen from Iraq and are sold at the mall is only 60 pounds. Nadia is a young girl who works in a coffee shop near Baghdad in a well – off area; she also sells herself. She who has escaped from some human thieves tells Goldenberg: Do you think that these people steal only girls like me? No, whomever they find on the street has the same condition as I do. The do not do that as retaliation or because of what I do. This is because they do whatever they like.
It is clear that it is impossible to get statistical data but Goldenberg has shocking statistics which are clearer than the calculation. When the schools were re - opened in 14th of October, half of the classes are vacant. Parents kept their daughters at home because they had to choose between immunity and schooling. Goldenberg starts her essay by explaining about Amnieh who had to close her beauty shop. She was attacked by the armed men and her disciples are subjected to stealing; they kidnap grils and women and after raping them they traffic them and take them in to their service. Goldenberg writes: this is the state of development in Iraq after war where the calmest areas of Iraq are now about to be exploded and women are forced to remain at home. Goldenberg states that kidnapping women and raping them are the prime examples of the crimes that are now prevalent in Iraq after the war is it of political retaliation or familial ones, or be it the result of revenge or the crimes of the thieves in trafficking women, smuggling or felony after the breakdown of police in the country.
Asmeh is a twenty and some year old engineer with whose mother Goldenberg talked to; she was busy buying things in the market along with her mother, little sister and her young cousin when she was attacked by armed men carried by trucks and was shot; they stole her and raped her in a farm out of the city. After this event she has not uttered a word; she has sat at home and plays card with her mother. Still, Asmeh is lucky not because she has remained alive but because of her mother and father’s behavior.
Nidal Husseini a nurse in the Baghdad Forensic Institute told Susan: There are a lot of girls who are brought to the forensic institute by their parents and after it is determined that they are not virgin, after a few days their corpse is brought again to the institute. Families kill their daughters because they are ashamed of having such daughters. This institute has specified 50 different doubtful cases that are killed because of being raped.
Goldenberg writes the authorities do not confess these things. The police forces that are themselves corrupt and degenerated are unable to take any measures against these deeds and they have no inclinations to show sympathy.
At the present time vast attacks on the believable Shiites while they are conducting Aashoura ceremony show that the present government is unable to provide security and immunity for any one or any place. This affects women in a different way. In those places where kidnappings occur time and time again occurs repeatedly. Children go to school with their parents and women can not go to the mall themselves and in order to make sure they usually wear men’s loose cloaks. An Iraqi talk about her colleague who had a better make up than she did and now she is wearing men’s loose cloak. She was not forced to do so under the Saddam regime but now she says she is terrified by these lacks of laws.

Civil Laws of Iraq:
The family laws of Iraq called “the law of personal position”? have been passed in 1995. Savad Aljazaieri a member of the Iraqi Association of Women in London, has protested to this law in an open letter; she believes; this law is the most developed law of its kind because according to this law taking care of the children after divorce is the duty of women. It is said that taking care of the children after getting divorced is an example of duty not right; this law makes the duty pf women in this regard double for the divorced women. And if the mother rejects to take care of the child the damages that the child suffers is not countable.
Before the decapitation of the Saddam regime one of the reasons of America to justify the common thought in attacking Iraq is to rescue people and especially women from the dictatorship system. In most of the news that was published about Iraq, separate from economical poverty, and the closed environment of dictatorship, and the persecution of people, killing women because of sexual rapes were repetitive cases and it was supposed that after the decapitation of Saddam equality and freedom will be dominant in Iraq but it is now seen that this condition is not easily solved.


Chapter 5: Result

The silence of International Association:

The beginning of the Feminism was to destroy the cruelties that have been done to the women. But unfortunately what this movement has brought with itself for women is changing injustices rather than stopping them. While the Afghan and the Iraqi women are bereft of their very right which is immunity, how is it possible to consider the convention “to stop all the biases against women’ as a developed rule for the contemporary women. How is it that in a congregation to investigate wars and their effects on women that is held in Beijing and Thailand, none of the feminist women participated in this seminar did not talk about the sufferings of the Iraqi and the Afghan Women.
It is only an Iranian woman who breaks the silence in this regard and protests against why they did not talk about the problems of the Iraqi and the Afghan women.

Feminism in looking at the traditional cruelties that were done to women takes the new forms of women depression, sexual persecution, for granted. Nowadays most of the industrial countries such as Germany are regarded as the center for trafficking women especially Asian girls and some countries developing counties such as Thailand have based their economy on the international trade of sex in a way that many lesbians and homosexuals or those who are interested in sex travel to these countries every year. The official statistics have recorded the existence of one million prostitutes and the in – official recordings report several times as much as this number.
While there are special lesbian and homosexual groups in international aggregations who talk about humanitarian rights, Iraqi women are raped in front of their husband’s eyes in the Abu Ghoreib Prison. It is not possible to search for the problems of Iraqi and Afghan women neither in Capitalism nor in the negations of their rules.
The most basic problem of women all over the history results from ignorance and self centeredness. Although ignorance and self centeredness is not always found among men it is also found among women, too. But the natural characteristics of man have placed him in a position that the crimes and injustices that they might do toward the other sex are more notable. Getting away from the humanistic and ethical values plus ignorance and self interest will prepare the way to do injustice to women.
In the modern age which is called the age of science and technology ignorance takes role and shows off to be knowledge and the modern men who are self centered in reality perform cruel deeds in a newer and more complex way. Have the women in America ever tried to protest about the disasters that the Afghan and the Iraqi women suffered and to defend the women? Has there been any rule in England passed against the aggressive policies of Blair in cooperation with Bush? Now what should be done?
Changing one’s mind is the first step. According to the religious teaching, in order to stop injustice to women, it is better to start by altering the minds of people.
In the first phase developing welfare should be replaced by peace and security. Developing welfare means having access to the material devices and accounting for the inner needs which brings neither peace nor immunity rather it increases stress and causes one to be laid astray.
«Ù‚Ù„ هل ننبئكم بالاخسرين اعمالاً الذين ضل سعيهم Ù?ÙŠ الحياه الدنيا Ùˆ هم يحسبون انهم يحسنون صنعاً» (سوره ÙŠ كهÙ? ØŒ آيات 103 Ùˆ 104)

Material Welfare tells us what to want but achieving at success and peace is dependent on understanding what we want and what we do not want. We have to settle a balance between what we want and what we do not want and the consequence of this is to achieve real peace and fortune.
In the next stage we have to look at the relationship of men and women through ethics and spirituality. It is possible to calm the relationships down by teaching cultural teachings. Insisting on the emotional ties should replace competition and contrasts. For this aim it is necessary to emphasize the male and female characteristics so that they know the differences between themselves formally and expect each other based on reality and science.
Thirdly, by regulating official rules clearly based on religious teachings and based on the social conditions, we have to prevent any transgression. The lawful rights should be mentioned in a way that they themselves do not create any challenge. The basic way of Innocent Imams (A. S.) in expressing rights is that they familiarize everybody with their rights and the others’ rights; in other they made any group with the duty of the other groups.

Chapter 6.

Iranian Women and the Average Islamic Model:

The success of our women during the past few years is on one part the result of their clear sightedness and on the other hand it is the result of the efforts and enlightenment of the leaders and managers of the country. Some of the achievements are;

1. Self trust:
The most important effect of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the women is the revolution in their character and their alteration from lost and bewildered women to women who have the claim to be the leaders of the world women; they do not seek their utopia in the imaginative stories of the western women. The Iranian women in the age of Islamic republic, in addition to taking leading in the social and historical revolution of their country, had some glances at the other women in order to create a new method for them to follow. Although they were not thinking about a collective program for the women out of the borders but the alterations that happened in our country became a leading light for the women out there in the other Islamic Countries. Nowadays Muslim women are thinking of a third way which is resulted neither backwardness nor is it the result of loosing one’ self confidence in front of the west and of course they consider the third way to be the paradigm of the Iranian women.

2. Wrathfulness:

The Iranian woman has reached its position when she was the precursor of men in the demonstration and protest. Showing bravery and presence during the Islamic Republic and the sacred defense war; Martyrdom and generosity in their wealth during the repetitive attacks of the enemy; showing resistance after the loss of their husbands and children; showing patience in the social scenes; showing purity and honor during the age of reconstitution; showing efforts and resistance.
It can be said with great deal of certainty that our women especially during the sacred defense war period have enliven the spirit of bravery and resistance; they have brought up a generation who have considered martyrdom as one of their greatest aims.

3. Social presence

Changing the political system and cleansing the social environment created an opportunity so that the Islamic woman by improving their social behavior show herself in a way that was neither meant seclusion nor was it show off. Such a woman has understood that the social presence does not mean physical presences in the allies, streets and achieving social positions rather it meant having more effects on the social alterations which are conducive to the humanity's welfare. Lack of their presences in some aspects of society has been effective in some other regards.
Founding women NGOs and other public foundations in Iran, being the paradigms of participation in the society for the other Muslim women are what strengthen their participation in the sacred defense war.
Some foundations such as Isar and Efforts Ayah composed of the narrators of the sacred defense war are some forms of their participation in the society.

4. Scientific Growth:

Growth in the degree of literacy of girls to more than % 95, lessening the differences between male and female schooling, increase in the scientific knowledge of women and the number of their scholars are some of their scientific achievements during the last two decades. What is more important is evolution of a group of women scholar and researchers who follow the national and international changes and are thinking of changing the equation of Islam against the westerns. They try to achieve at an equation in which the Islamic societies and especially Muslim women are preserved against the frauds of the modern world especially those threats which are to be inflicted upon the Islamic society on the part of the enemies especially that of the ………What is really good is that the number of such women is increasing.


5. Paying Careful attention to the position of Wives and Mothers:

Our women understood that motherhood and being a wife are two important and complex duties that are most effective in the cultural, social and economical development of the country. The experience of the Islamic Revolution and the sacred defense war made them believe in what Imam said (Man ascends to heavens through the aid of women) wholeheartedly and provided them with an experience for the reconstitution period. They were become fully aware of their roles in bringing up children and nowadays they are trying hard to update their knowledge.


6. Paying attention to women affairs:

If the affairs of women were not considered and ignored behind the dusts of ignorance and backwardness or they were left unnoticed behind the atrocities of the modern age or even they were interpreted inversely, nowadays with the coming to the fore of the new generations of women under the rule of the leaders who have take it upon themselves to solve the problems of women and who have the power to distinguish what their problems are as well as with the existence of responsible people whose major concerns are to solve the problems of the society, the time is a good period for opening new prospects on the women issues.

Now we confess that we were not stable in following our missions and we have walked not steadily but we do believe that we have broken some obstacles which considered defending women in contrast to the Islamic teachings or decreased their needs only to some doubts to be answered but nowadays most of the religious institutions take it their responsibility to follow up the women issues and consider them very important. This makes the duties of the state or non – governmental institutions and organizations double. Now our free and knowledgeable women expect that their needs are paid attention to, on an urgent basis, and they expect different organizations try hard to solve their problems.

Sources:
1. An introduction to the character of women in Islam.
2. Monthly magazine of Payame Zan (Women's Message), No. 7.
3. Monthly Social Magazine of Yas, Pre – issue No. 9. Farvardin 1381.
4. Iran Newspaper Khordad 16th, 1383.
5. Feminism in America until 2003.
6. Analytical announcement of the Institution for Women Research and Studies 1381.
Writer: Zahra Choopani