Defining women

Iraq | Will the new constitution affirm democratic values or use democracy to impose Shariah? What it says about women will tell | Jill Nelson

Zeena al-Qushtaini was a successful Iraqi businesswoman who owned a pharmacy in Baghdad. A divorced mother, she was known for her Western style of dress, refusing to don the traditional Islamic headscarf. But her progressive ways and involvement with women's activists led to her death. Last November, Zeena was kidnapped and murdered—her body found on a highway, clad in a black, full-length abaya and a blood-stained headscarf. A note attached to the abaya read, "She was a collaborator against Islam."

As the Iraqi National Assembly races toward an Aug. 15 deadline for completion of a constitution, many Iraqi women fear the future. A glance at numerous Muslim nations reveals how Islam can marginalize women, denying them basic rights and sometimes persecuting them. Article 1 of the latest leaked draft proposes, in translation, that "Islam is the official religion of the state and it is the main source of legislation and it [Parliament] is not allowed to make laws that contradict the fundamental teachings of Islam and its rules." That means Islamic law—notorious for making women second-class citizens—will play a role in domestic issues. The rights of Iraqi women will lie in the hands of 275 Parliament members who will attempt to integrate democracy and Islam.