HC Deb 09 July 2003 vol 408 cc787-8W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Minister for Women what recent assessment she has made of women's rights in Iraq. [123331]

Mr. Amess

To ask the Minister for Women what recent assessment she has made of women's rights in Iraq. [123825]

Ms Hewitt

During this critical phase in the reconstruction of Iraq, I am extremely concerned that women's rights are given adequate attention.

Indeed, the Coalition Provisional Authority's gender equality team—which includes a secondee from the DTI Women and Equality Unit—is currently assessing women's rights in Iraq within the framework for a women's conference that will take place in Baghdad shortly. Officials are holding discussions with in-country Iraqi women, who are legal experts, on constitutional and legal reform aiming to assess and improve women's rights. These discussions will feed into two of the workshops of the women's conference, mirroring the emergent political process and feeding recommendations into the system.