Iraqis divided by Constitution’s treatment of women

That memory is one reason Musawi, who heads parliament’s Women, Family and Childhood Committee, supports Article 41, a clause in Iraq’s interim constitution that supporters say will prevent state meddling in civil affairs by allowing Iraqis to marry, divorce, decide inheritances and settle other personal issues according to their religious sect. For example, under Shiite law, no witnesses are required for a marriage, but Sunnis require two.

But a fight over the article’s potential effect has presented a stumbling block to lawmakers trying to finalise a constitution by year’s end. Article 41 is just one line in the 16-page document, but to critics, it is the worst.

Opponents, including women’s rights activists and legal scholars, say the one poorly worded sentence opens the door to rule by draconian interpretations of Islamic law that could sanction the stoning of adulterous women, allow underage girls to be forced into marriage and permit men to abandon their wives by declaring, “I divorce you,” three times.

In the southern city of Basra, there are already signs of religious extremism being used to rein in women. Police say gangs enforcing their idea of Islamic law have killed 15 women in the last month.

“This is a mockery for us, when you speak about freedom,” said Hanaa Edwar, who heads the Iraqi Amal Association, a human rights group opposing Article 41.

Redrafting the document is one of the benchmarks sought by the Bush administration to set the stage for an eventual US troop withdrawal. But it has been delayed three times as lawmakers haggle over issues such as provincial powers, religious freedoms, and distribution of oil revenue.