What do we owe them? They had much more economic freedom under Saddam than under other Islamist states, even though that freedom was to work at the behest of a vicious dictatorship. I’m worried like many others about the possibility of reversals, especially in domestic law, that are now being considered in the various constitutional drafts for the new Iraq. And I certainly hope the U.S. is doing its utmost to protect women and other vulnerable groups in Iraq. But perfection should not be the enemy of the good. Equal status on Western lines may not be possible, given the deeply sexist nature of Islamic society. But a real and persistent reversal would be a terrible disappointment. Freedom is part of what we fought for, and we should especially try to allow wives and women legal recourse outside theocratic courts. I find Reuel Marc Gerecht’s comments on “Meet The Press” unfortunate:
I mean, one hopes that the Iraqis protect women’s social rights as much as possible. It certainly seems clear that in protecting the political rights, there’s no discussion of women not having the right to vote. I think it’s important to remember that in the year 1900, for example, in the United States, it was a democracy then. In 1900, women did not have the right to vote. If Iraqis could develop a democracy that resembled America in the 1900s, I think we’d all be thrilled. I mean, women’s social rights are not critical to the evolution of democracy. We hope they’re there. I think they will be there. But I think we need to put this into perspective.
Gerecht is not entirely wrong in bringing a little realism to these debates. And we can be sure that the Dowds of this world who opposed every attempt to liberate Iraq’s women in the past will now be whining that they do not all have equal access to her suite at the Chateau Marmont. But I do believe that the repression of women’s social rights is integral to the pathologies that have bred Islamo-fascism. Sexual repression, misogynist theology, males treating women as property to be fought over or raped, honor killings: all these lead to cultures in which many frustrated young males turn to extreme religious faith or violence. Liberating Muslim women is critical to liberating the Middle East, which in turn is critical to protecting the West from more religious terror. We may not be able to achieve this all at once. But we can try where we can. Iraq is a rare case where we have real leverage for a short period of time. History will not forgive us if we pass this opportunity by.
The Dish 