Despite the many challenges facing women in Iraq’s male-dominated society, Nissan Al Salhy is determined to pursue a career in politics.
The Arabic teacher from the southern province of Dhi Qar is vying for a seat in parliament in Sunday's national elections, joining a new generation of young women seeking a powerful role in politics for the first time in their lives.
Smear campaigns back in 2018 were one of the reasons for today’s dwindling number of women candidates
Hanaa Edwar,
human rights activist
Since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime, “the situation of women in Iraq has been very bad”, Ms Al Salhy, 45, told The National while on her way to an event to speak to women voters.
“They are under huge pressure in a traditionally male-dominated society regardless of whether they are strong or not,” she said.
Female candidates running in Sunday's election say they will work on pushing women's issues to the fore in a country where women’s rights are being eroded. They say they are undaunted by the hardships they face, including cyber bullying and harassment.
There are 951 female candidates registered to compete for 83 seats reserved for women in the 329-seat parliament. Women make up nearly 30 per cent of the total number of candidates standing, 3,249.
According to the country’s constitution and the electoral law, women’s representation in parliament must be no less than 25 per cent. Political parties are also required to have candidate lists on which at least a quarter of the candidates are women.
In October 2019, Ms Al Salhy joined thousands of frustrated Iraqis who took to the streets in major cities in central and southern Iraq, demanding a better life and an overhaul to the dysfunctional political system that has been in place since 2003.
Now she is running with one of the main newly-founded parties in the Shiite heartland, Imtidad, which is led by prominent activists.
“Women [in Iraq] need everything,” said the mother-of-one. “There’s a big number of widows and divorced women, in addition to girls, seeking job opportunities.
“I believe that the simplest thing a woman needs is an institution that takes care of her.”
She envisages the creation of a government-funded institution to finance small business projects for women, such as tailoring and embroidery workshops or beauty salons, and offer financial aid to those who cannot work.
Dressed in a black abaya, she visited remote agricultural communities, speaking to voters about her platform. Her husband and two brothers accompanied her.
A familiar face in the protest movement, she found support from residents who took part in the protests, even in more conservative agricultural areas where meetings were held separately for women and men.
However, she had some of her posters torn up and has faced online abuse.
Despite efforts to address gender inequality since 2003, the situation for Iraqi women has declined steadily. The situation has been exacerbated by the rise of Islamists and the weakness of consecutive governments that have allowed laws based on tradition and tribal customs to prevail.
A bill that criminalises domestic violence was shelved in parliament after facing tough resistance from Islamist politicians who saw it as opposed to Islam.
Islamist parties did, however, fail to advance a controversial law that would have allowed the marriage of girls as young as nine and would have given a husband the right to have sex with his wife regardless of whether she consented.
In 2019, Islamists submitted a proposal to amend the 1959 Personal Status law to favour fathers and grandfathers over mothers when it came to child custody.
Candidate Dahaa Al Rawi says one of her priorities is to encourage other women inside parliament to create their own bloc.
“Since we are more than 80 inside parliament we can have a women's bloc to stop the parliament from voting on any law seen as against women,” Ms Al Rawi, 63, told The National during one of her election rallies in Baghdad.
Ms Al Rawi says she will push to increase the number of women in government posts and even to have a woman prime minister.
“A woman today is facing injustice and she’s marginalised in politics. We have strong women who can lead ministries or become prime minister,” she said.
Posters for women candidates have been erected in streets and on buildings in Baghdad and other cities, alongside those of men.
Some depict veil-framed faces with abayas while others, without the traditional Islamic headscarf, or hijab, are wearing make-up. The latter posters have provoked a harsh response from many.
“There is a big difference between your picture in posters campaigning in parliament elections and your picture when you want to participate in The Voice,” prominent blogger Salih Al Hamdani, from the conservative city of Karbala, wrote on his Facebook page.
Smear campaigns
Mr Al Hamdani is referring to a TV series aiming to find unsigned singing talent, in which the winner is determined by viewers.
In 2018 elections, women candidates amounted to slightly over 40 per cent of the total number. Some of them were forced to withdraw amid unprecedented smear campaigns, some of which involved sex videos.
“The smear campaigns back in 2018 were one of the reasons for today’s dwindling number of women candidates,” Hanaa Edwar, a leading Iraqi women’s rights activist, told The National.
“What happened then was a message to women to withdraw voluntarily from politics.”
Ms Edwar, founder and chairwoman of the Al Amal Association rights group, said other hardships women candidates face include a lack of financial support for their campaigns. This was particularly the case with independent candidates.
“If it were not for the 25 per cent quota, there would be fewer women in parliament,” she said.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
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WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Key features of new policy
Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6
Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge
A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools
Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability
Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances
All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.
Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.
Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.
Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.
Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.
Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
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yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
Naga
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 1:39:46.713
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 00:00.908
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 00:12.462
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 00:12.885
5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 00:13.276
6. Fernando Alonso, McLaren 01:11.223
7. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 1 lap
8. Sergio Perez, Force India 1 lap
9. Esteban Ocon, Force India 1 lap
10. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren 1 lap
11. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso 1 lap
12. Jolyon Palmer, Renault 1 lap
13. Kevin Magnussen, Haas 1 lap
14. Lance Stroll, Williams 1 lap
15. Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber 2 laps
16. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber 2 laps
17r. Nico Huelkenberg, Renault 3 laps
r. Paul Di Resta, Williams 10 laps
r. Romain Grosjean, Haas 50 laps
r. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 70 laps
57%20Seconds
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
AIR
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