The views of Iraqi women

Iraqi women
Originally uploaded by vegacura.

I'm venturing into BagnewsNotes territory once again, but this picture struck me as somewhat bizarre, and the lack of context is vexing. What does the headline say? Who created the poster? Are Coalition Forces once again stage managing a political campaign for (secular) Iraqi political leaders? I am perhaps cynical, but the Western-style hair is certainly jarring when seen in comparison with the veiled women squatting below it. More jarring still, the poster's support of the constitutional process stands in stark contrast to the likelihood that the rights of women are probably going to be easy concessions to religious fundamentalists.

"There are no issues without solutions," Mr. Talabani said at a news conference. "The points left are very few, such as the role of Islam, human rights, and the rights of women. There is a general agreement on them, but we need to word them precisely."

The night before, Iraqi leaders were hung up on central questions, including the control of oil, the role of Islam, the rights of women and Shiite self-rule in the south. During the evening, new disagreements emerged, such as the desire of Kurdish leaders to have some right to secede and a renewed push by Shiite leaders to have their senior religious leaders, known collectively as the Marjariya, declared independent of the government.

Call me a materialist, but at the end of the day I think the rights of women are going to be an easy bargaining chip compared to control of oil.