Iraqi women prefer electing men

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Ten days prior to the provincial councils elections, a number of Iraqi women said they prefer to vote for men instead of women, despite their acknowledgment of women’s role in the political work. Haliema Qassem, 40, said she will vote for men, noting that she believes the current stage needs male leaders who have the ability to continue the establishment of the new Iraq’s future. “The provincial councils will have a lot of responsibilities to assume, which means the burden will be heavy and I believe man is better equipped to bear this responsibility now,” she added. For her part, Kariema Abdul Wahed, an employee, believes that “women can serve the country in certain fields but, according to her, woman cannot work in most governmental departments ipso facto her nature.” She does not believe that any woman, who will win a seat in the provincial council elections, will be able to maintain security in a specified region because a woman is unable to do work of this nature and does not have the necessary experience. “Iraq is still in a transitional period for democracy and woman can freely elect a suitable candidate, but our selection should not be based on a sectarian nor ethnic base,” she said. Sada Jaafar, a university student, told IraqiNews.com news agency that she will vote for the person, whom she finds most suitable for this national duty, regardless of being man or woman. “The presence of the Iraqi woman in the political work became important because she is a citizen and has the same rights and duties given to the man,” she explained. The provincial council elections are scheduled to be held on January 31 in Iraq’s 18 provinces save Kirkuk and the three autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniya and Duhuk. Over 15,000 candidates from all over Iraq are competing for 440 seats in the upcoming provincial council elections.   SH (S)/SR 3