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Iraqi Women See Little but Darkness
A woman casts her ballot during a rehearsal vote at a polling station in Basra, southern Iraq, one day before today's constitutional referendum.
(Reuters)
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"They have become prisoners of their own home," she said.
Was her own life better than those of her daughters? "Of course," she said.
Women "used to complain in Saddam's times," said Milla's colleague, Atika Muhanned Sayeed. "Now, after complaining, they got worse."
Neither woman has seen a copy of the draft constitution. The many amendments, made up to 72 hours before the vote, left them uncertain about just what it held for women, or what it said at all.
The dealmaking also left them deeply skeptical that political leaders would feel bound by the charter. Neither woman plans to vote on Saturday. "It's all just speeches," Sayeed said. "Just words."
Sayeed is nevertheless confident, she said, that Iraqi women need not fear the worst -- a religious government that would force them into full veils and a housebound existence. "This isn't Iran," Sayeed said.
Milla shifted forward on her uncomfortable metal chair but said nothing.
Special correspondent Omar Fekeiki contributed to this report.
