§ 21. Mrs. Ann Cryer (Keighley) (Lab)If she will make a statement on the representation of women in positions of power in the new Iraqi Government. [182670]
§ The Minister for Women and Equality (Ms Patricia Hewitt)I am delighted to say that six women have been appointed as Ministers and seven women as Deputy Ministers in the new Iraqi Interim Government. That includes a Minister for Women.
§ Mrs. CryerI thank my right hon. Friend for that encouraging list of appointments in Iraq. Will she have any input into the organisation of elections to the National Assembly, which I understand may well have a reserved list for women, perhaps even of 25 per cent.? Will she have a word with Members of the National Assembly of Pakistan, who were elected on such a list and who are pretty well disregarded by their colleagues because of the way in which they were elected?
§ Ms HewittMy hon. Friend raises an extremely important point. As she knows, we have throughout supported Iraqi women who want and, I believe, deserve a strong voice in the future government of their country. I am delighted to say that two of the seven commissioners on the Independent Electoral Commission for Iraq are women. There is indeed a commitment that 25 per cent. of the candidates for the new Transitional National Assembly should be women. That is being taken forward by the United Nations, which will facilitate that election and electoral system.
§ Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)Although it is welcome that women are involved in the new Government, the role of women in the new Iraq needs to be at least as good as it was under the previous regime, 1008 which ironically, in its general treatment of women, was better than many other states in the middle east. With regard to the question from the hon. Member for Keighley (Mrs. Cryer), is not the problem the fact that we have transferred sovereignty to the people of Iraq? Our job is not to tell the people of Iraq how to organise their society, but to ensure that there is a democratic framework that enables women to prosper and thrive in that society and in its Administration.
§ Ms HewittI must say that the Iraqi women with whom I have worked closely over the past 12 months would not recognise the hon. Gentleman's description of the previous regime, under which many of them and their families suffered and from which several of them were forced to flee. We do not seek to dictate how the Iraqi people should shape their future society and Government, and we support Iraqi people, and in this case Iraqi women, in having their voices heard. Iraqi women insisted on the transitional council withdrawing its proposal to reinstate sharia law, and they also insisted—we supported them—on the inclusion of women in all the new power structures. Many of those strong and courageous women will be elected to the Transitional National Assembly, and they will play an important role in building a strong, stable and democratic Iraq.