Framers of Iraq's new constitution said they will meet next month's deadline despite a move by Sunni Arabs to suspend work after the killings of two colleagues. Some Shiites are pushing a proposal that could erode women's rights.
Vast gulfs remain among the positions of Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni members on key issues, including Iraq's identity as an Arab nation, the role of Islam and federalism, some committee members said privately on Wednesday.
Shiites want a greater role for Islam in civil law -- a proposal that could erode women's rights in such matters as marriage, divorce and inheritance.
PHOTO: AFP
Under Islamic law, a woman inherits half of what a man would. Men also have the power when it comes to initiating divorces. Iraq has been operating under a secular 1959 civil status law that treated every person according to his sect.
"We reject the changes ... because some Islamic parties want to kidnap the rights of women in Iraq," said Yanar Mohammed, head of Women's Freedom in Iraq Movement. "We reject such attempts because women should be full citizens with full rights, not semi-human beings."
However, Mariam al-Rayyes, a Shiite member, said Islam will be the state religion and a "main source" for legislation in the constitution.
"It gives women all rights and freedoms as long as they don't contradict with our values," she said. "Concerning marriage, inheritance and divorce, this is civil status laws. That should not contradict with religious values."
The chairman of the committee drafting the new constitution told reporters that subcommittees dealing with specific articles would finish their work within the next two days and submit their reports for review.
Humam Hammoudi, a Shiite cleric, said he was confident the committee would finish the final draft by the end of the month so that parliament could meet an Aug. 15 deadline for approving it. The document then goes to a referendum by mid-October.
His optimism came despite a move by 12 Sunni Arab members to suspend participation in the committee to protest poor security after the assassination of two fellow Sunnis helping draft the constitution.
Committee member Mijbil Issa and committee adviser Dhamin Hussein al-Obeidi were gunned down Tuesday as they left a restaurant in Baghdad's Karradah district. A bodyguard also was killed.
Issa was among 15 Sunni Arabs appointed to the committee last month; Sunnis form the core of Iraq's insurgency, and giving them a greater voice in preparing the constitution was seen as key to wooing them away from violence.
But two Sunnis quit the committee due to insurgent threats. Kamal Hamdoun, a Sunni member, said the 12 remaining members would meet Thursday with Sunni leaders to decide what to do.
"Our membership has been suspended temporarily until tomorrow when we meet the committee that chose us," he said. "We don't have security."
At a funeral service for Issa on Wednesday, a hard-line Sunni cleric said the Sunnis agreed to participate in drafting the charter "under pressure from others," presumably including the US.
"A constitution cannot be written under [US] occupation," Harith al-Dhari said. "This is what Sunnis got from joining the constitution committee. Their members are being killed."
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said concerns about the security of the Sunnis were understandable but that "we all look forward to the work of the committee continuing."
The three minutes of silence Wednesday honored the nearly 100 victims of a massive suicide bombing in Musayyib last Saturday and nearly 30 others, including 18 children and teens, who died July 13 in a suicide attack in Baghdad.
Observance was sporadic. State-run Iraqiya Television showed traffic at a standstill in parts of central Baghdad and along a main street in southern Basra. But officials in Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, said they were never notified of the commemoration.
In Basra, more than half of the 41-member provincial council suspended participation in meetings Wednesday to protest the deteriorating security situation.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
PINEAPPLE DEBATE: While the owners of the pizzeria dislike pineapple on pizza, a survey last year showed that over 50% of Britons either love or like the topping A trendy pizzeria in the English city of Norwich has declared war on pineapples, charging an eye-watering ￡100 (US$124) for a Hawaiian in a bid to put customers off the disputed topping. Lupa Pizza recently added pizza topped with ham and pineapple to its account on a food delivery app, writing in the description: “Yeah, for ￡100 you can have it. Order the champagne too! Go on, you monster!” “[We] vehemently dislike pineapple on pizza,” Lupa co-owner Francis Wolf said. “We feel like it doesn’t suit pizza at all,” he said. The other co-owner, head chef Quin Jianoran, said they kept tinned pineapple
RSS