As the deadline for drawing up the new constitution for Iraq is approaching, women and civil society groups are becoming more and more vocal of their opposition to groups who wants sharia to be the civil law of the land. However, whenever they take to the streets to protest, their stalkers arise out of the mist. These stalkers aren’t men, but other women who are perfectly willing to see them subdued. It’s a game of demonstrators versus counter-demonstrators.

BAGHDAD (AFP) – A group of ultraconservative Iraqi women confronted a protest by their liberal opponents in central Baghdad as tensions mounted ahead of a deadline for the war-torn country’s constitution.

A group of about 30 women draped in long black abayas were kept apart however from some 50 people, mostly women, who were demanding a secular constitution that guarantees equal rights for women at a square in the capital.

The liberalists were passing out leaflets and waving banners before they were met by the convervatives, who responded by wielding their own banners and calling for the inclusion of Islamic law in the constitution.

The counterdemonstrators were not allowed to enter the square, and marched separately.

As far as I know, the provision making sharia the law of the land has been changed to make it a source of law in the land. It also prevents discrimination based on a number of things, one in particular being gender. However, it’s a very good thing that these women are using their right to assemble and make their views known peacefully in order to keep pressure on the government.

The real problem, as I see it, as that some people, such as the counter-demonstrators, feel that sharia is something that should be imposed regardless of the consequences on other people. At the same time, there are others who feel that this would only be alright if a majority votes for it. Both cases are flat out wrong. Iraq the Model has much more on the demonstration, including loads of pictures and interviews. The most interesting was what the leader of the “black cloud” counter-demonstration said to him:

Me: You want an Islamic state?
Her: Yes I do.
Me: Okay but which version of Islam you want? For example will you accept a Sunni interpretation of Sharea to replace the civil law?
Her: No, the Islam I want is the one that most Muslims agree with.
Me: Fine but different factions have different opinions in almost everything.
Her: Then we shall put a judge from each faction in the courts.
Me: But this way we’ll be empowering sectarianism!
Her: No, this way we’ll be empowering freedom of religion.
Me: You are a physician as I understood and according to the 137 law your testimony in a court of law will equal half that of any man even if he was illiterate. Will you accept that?
Her: It’s an honor to me to be half of a garbage collector because that’s what Allah said and it’s not you who can explain to me what Allah said.

Fundamental, individual rights like being able to participate in the political system, vote, assemble, and lead your own life are things that cannot be stamped out simply because a majority of legislators think it should be. But as we witnessed with the liberal women’s protest, the democracy that is being built in Iraq is one that is slowly but surely fostering liberal thought and marginalizing authoritarian practices.