Norman Geras has found a report from Women for Women International that is an extensive public opinion poll of 1,000 women in Iraq.

Now, the fact that there is now a country in the Middle East where a poll performed on women can be performed is incredible enough, but hear these responses…

> 94% of women surveyed want to secure legal rights for women.
> 84% of women want the right to vote on the final constitution.
> Nearly 80% of women believe that their participation in local and national councils should not be limited.

Due to the Interim Constitution signed on March 8, women will have equal civil and political rights to men. This is especially important, especially after many attempts by extremists to limit female influence in the political stratosphere. In the January before the signing of the Interim Constitution, the Iraqi Governing Council proposed Resolution 137, which would have turned the tables of civil law over to Islamic law.

And we all know how democratic and free that can be.

Women all over Baghdad took to the streets and defended their natural rights. On that note, Bremer shot the resolution down. Good.

These numbers are just proof that with such a grand opportunity for advancement, women cannot afford to be put on the backburner again. And that, actually, goes for all Iraqis. This election will be the most important event of their lives, and everyone needs a chance to be a part of it. And they really want to. They can’t wait to have control over their government. So I have a big gut feeling that if some militants decide to blow stuff up all over the country to disrupt the election, there is going to be some popular vigilantism against known trouble-makers.