Executive Summary
The Iraqi constitution, drafted in 2005, guarantees basic human rights to all Iraqi women for the first time. Yet three potential pitfalls within the constitution threaten to render all of those rights meaningless: vagueness; discrimination; and the promotion of sectarianism. To begin addressing these weaknesses, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs must coordinate the efforts of all local women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to develop a unified set of demands. To put pressure on the Iraqi government to adopt these demands, the Ministry must seek and secure the support of UN agencies. In the long term, the Ministry must amend Article 89 of the constitution — the article that allows Sharia law experts to be members of the Supreme Court. The Ministry should seek the support of the President in proposing the amendment. Presidential involvement will help to secure the support of parliament members, from whom a two thirds majority is required to pass a constitutional amendment.
