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...fact that Iraqis in Anbar get to participate in their first democratic election isn't the only major change. In a society that remains heavily dependent on tribal lineages and traditional gender roles for its structure, the introduction of women like Khalif and al-Feraji into this month's campaign is a new development, and one that both the men and women seem to view as more of a legal necessity than an opportunity. "We are required to have eight women if we're going to win," al-Hais says, responding to his wife's irritation. Na'if suggests that...
...Anbar, where most of the province's majority Sunni population boycotted that vote, political participation for men and women alike is relatively new. "Democracy will be real in Anbar in 2009," says Jubbair Rashid Na'if, another high-ranking tribal leader, whose wife Bushra Hassan Ali al-Feraji is also a candidate on the Tribes of Iraq list. The last election, he says, was "silly." U.S. and election officials say that, out of the 14 Iraqi provinces holding elections, Anbar is expected to see the most dramatic increase in voter participation, compared with...
...heart of the country's bloody insurgency against U.S. troops, which raged for more than three years. In 2006 local sheiks and former insurgents began to band together to form the Awakening movement. With funding from the U.S. military, the movement fought a fierce battle in 2007 against al-Qaeda-led insurgents, inspiring similar programs in other areas of Iraq. The Awakening is largely credited with quelling the insurgency and bringing stability to Anbar and Baghdad. Now many of Anbar's 35 parties carry names that emphasize either tribal or Awakening ties, or both...
...contrast with female candidates in Baghdad is noticeable. In the Iraqi capital, posters can be seen pasted to blast walls depicting the faces of a few bold female candidates - something the Anbar women wouldn't dare to do. Iman al-Barazenchi, a European history professor at Baghdad University, has a loyal following of male and female students who are campaigning for her on campus. A candidate for the Iraqia bloc, Nebras al-Ma'mouri, makes frequent appearances as a political analyst on Iraqi television. "It's great to see a woman in politics," she says. "In America, for example...
...longer to get used to. "Of course, since it is a village area, people are shocked that I'm running. But I would like to prove to them that I can do something for this area - at least, for the women. Maybe we can build a fabric factory," says al-Feraji. In the living room of her home in al-Jazeera - a village of fields and date palms outside the provincial capital of Ramadi - al-Feraji contemplated the meaning of this election for Anbar's women. "We want to see women more active in politics in the years to come...