My name is Susan Mishu Dakak and I am the President of Women for a Democratic Iraq. I was born in Iraq during the time when Iraqi women had more rights than women anywhere else in the Muslim world. We are Christians, so I went to a Catholic girls? school. I came to the US in 1978 and earned a degree in civil engineering at Tennessee Tech. In 2004 I went home to Baghdad for the first time since I left in 1978, as part of Iraqi reconstruction. What I saw there shocked me.
At the time I was growing up, Iraq was a very civilized nation. I don?t remember feeling any culture shock when I came to the U.S. Iraqi women were highly educated; almost everyone went to college. The equality between men and women was a way of life. Now I see tremendous inequality, but I also see brave women who are taking a stand.
The women of Iraq believe in democracy. I was drawn to their work when I was there rebuilding the wastewater collection system. They had two clear goals: to delete the resolution from the books which would have imposed fundamentalist rules on women, and to be represented in the new government. Along with my peers in the Women?s Alliance for a Democratic Iraq and other non-governmental organizations, I advised them about lobbying, peaceful demonstrations, petitioning for change. Between the Iraqi women and their newfound friends, they succeeded in making significant changes to the interim constitution.
The women of Iraq are my heroes. They did all that, they did not sleep at night, they demonstrated and collected signatures and networked. At first they were hesitant, but they took the bull by the horns. They went to the councils and won both issues in one week. I can?t tell you the cheer in the crowd on that day. That?s why right now it?s frustrating for me to hear that there are still some women who think that, ?Oh, it?s the right of men for women to be subservient.? The women are reaching out and saying that?s not true, that you can be a human being just like everyone else.
I was in Baghdad on Jan. 30, 2005, for the ceremonial signing of the interim constitution. The people of Iraq voted in a new government for the first time in more than a generation. Back at home, I get daily reports from Iraq and other places around the world where like-minded women are making change. A friend?s proposal to fund an Iraqi radio station for women has been approved by the United Nations, as has my own proposal to start a water purification and bottling company to be run by Iraqi women. I host Iraqi women who are able to travel here to learn more about how government works. Times are hard, but I believe there is hope.