Iraqi Women’s Delegation Briefs U.S. Congress
WASHINGTON (July 15, 2004)-At a breakfast meeting in the U.S. Capitol, a delegation of Iraqi women leaders, including high-ranking ministry officials, educators, and journalists, praised the U.S.-led campaign to overthrow Saddam Hussein and described in detail the continued effort to rebuild their country.
Policy Chairman Christopher Cox (R-CA), who also chairs the Homeland Security Committee, organized the opportunity for women leaders in Iraq to brief the Congressional Leadership and a bipartisan group of members. In addition, the Iraqis experienced the American democratic process first-hand: each woman spent the morning “shadowing” a member of Congress. Senators and House Members from both parties participated.
At the meeting, the women shared personal accounts of atrocities committed under Saddam Hussein and described the progress that has been made since the liberation of their country.
“For two decades, the people of Iraq--especially women and girls--were brutally oppressed and lived in fear,” Chairman Cox said after the meeting. “With the return of Iraq’s sovereignty, these women now hold powerful positions in their communities.”
The women recounted personal stories of atrocity committed under Saddam Hussein. The delegation spoke openly of family members snatched in the middle of the night never to be heard from; friends who lost body parts because they spoke out against the Baath regime; and the systemic use of rape to inflict terror.
Less lethal oppression of women was also widespread under Saddam Hussein’s regime. Most. Most women were not permitted to drive a car. Others were not allowed outside of their homes without a male escort.
Since the liberation of Iraq, many women have tried to reunite their families. One of the delegates will soon be able to see her son after 27 years of forced separation.
The women also provided statistics on the mass murder that has taken place in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Over 400,000 men, women, and children have been discovered in mass graves since the U.S. liberation. According to the women’s testimony at the breakfast, far in excess of 1 million Iraqis were killed, including by poison gas, by Saddam Hussein, making him one of the greatest mass murders of the 20th century, alongside Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin, and Hitler.
The delegation said that, because of the excessive attention on the issue of post-war security, Americans may not know that Iraqis are making extraordinary progress in building a cohesive, pluralistic, and economically free democracy. They stressed the importance of building bridges between America and Iraq. The delegation reiterated their support for continued U.S. involvement in their country adding that their only regret is that Saddam Hussein hadn’t been removed ten years earlier.
“Our meeting highlighted the fact that one of the most important achievements following from Iraq’s liberation is the advancement of women’s rights. The end of Saddam’s regime ensures that millions of Iraqi women and girls have opportunities today that they have never known,” said Chairman Cox.
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