khayal Ibrahim's Speech on September 8, The SECOND ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATION against  SHARIA COURT IN CANADA

Hi my name is khayal Ibrahim. I am from  Women’s Liberation in Iraq.

 would like to welcome everyone and thank you for you support.

-We are here to talk about shri’a court in Canada and why we are opposing it.

-In fact we in our organization “the Women’s Liberation of Iraq” do not only oppose shari’a in Canada but we oppose it everywhere.

-We believe that women’s rights are universal and not limited to certain areas.

-Shari’a is against women wherever they live. The women of Iraq have been facing the same battle against the Islamists and their Shari’a during the past 2 years and probably long before that.

-They are suffering the attacks of the Islamic movement in Iraq. But the Iraqi women are also known to be  liberated at least among the women of Middle East and it was clear when the previous Governing Council - basically an Islamic Coalition in power, tried to pass a resolution to change the civil family-law into Shari’a, large sectors of women in Iraq protested against it. This was the resolution 137.

-The Governing Council was forced to withdraw that resolution under pressure.

-Iraqi women demand a secular society and government where women can be guaranteed full equality with men in all aspects. The Iraqi women’s movement is secular and it wants to stand up for women’s rights in Canada the same way it did in Iraq and fight the Sharia and its reactionary impact on women.

-Shari’a wants to put the women down and consider them half humans. The Women’s Liberation in Iraq” is working to make sure that the attempts of Islamists and nationalists fail whether in Iraq or in Canada.

In many countries where the Islamic movement is in control, women are not allowed to travel without male member of her family, she is forced for arranged marriages, many times as young as age 12.

-The husband is legally allowed according to the Shari’a to marry four women without her having any power to oppose or protest because it is the law of Islam or Shari’a.

-In addition, there is the custody of children which is given to the husband in almost all cases. 

-This is besides the assault she gets daily from male members of the family like forcing her to wear Islamic vale and dress, controlling her education, and limiting her freedom in all aspects of her life. -----The worse comes, when she rejects this kind of control, she will be killed for honor of the family. All this is included in Sharia even if it was not shown or put on paper.

-In Iraq you all heard about the constitution which the Islamists had prepared with Islam as the “main” source of legislation.

-This is anti-women in every aspect. In fact women’s rights are not even listed on the Islamists agenda.

-By using Islam and nationalism and tribalism they want to keep women away from political sphere. They want to maintain women discriminated against and locked up.

-The problem against women in my view is the role they give to Islam and its Shari’a which we all know how reactionary and anti women and anti human it is.

-It is enough for us to look at the experiences of millions of women in Iran and Afghanistan to realize that any Islamic constitution would be a disaster on the women. In Iraq the Islamists and tribal leaders are working hard to suppress the people.

-They want to suppress women to maintain the most reactionary form of rule. They want to keep the society under their reactionary control.

Here in Canada when we say women’s rights are universal we mean by that, women must have the same rights of other women despite their ethnicity, religion, nationality, color, or culture.

-We believe that depriving women from equality with men under the pretext of “cultural differences” or “multi-culturalism” is discrimination.

-By claiming that the so-called Muslim women could not be equal to men according to her culture or religion at her birth place is a form of racism. It must be stopped and considered illegal immediately.

-Shari’a court is trying to treat women under a different Islamic law because women of Islamic origin are different. This is a shame. ---   

-Women in all countries are the same and deserve the same rights. They deserve equality and respect.

In my opinion, the secular and equality movement need to strengthen its ranks against the Islamic and nationalist movement.

-In Iraq this however needs a change of the situation in order to happen. In general Iraqi people are secular even if they were pushed by the US war and by the US-installed government to adopt Islam or tribalism.

-It is important for the world to know that Iraqi people want secularism and equality, unlike what this government is trying to promote. As in Canada, it is important that we know the enemy is one, it is the political Islam with its misogynist agenda and laws.

For the time being we should fight back, both in Iraq and here Canada. We, the secular and egalitarian movement should launch an attack on the Political Islamic movement because it is a barbaric and inhumane.

-It wants to humiliate women and pull the society back to the middle ages. I am hopeful that the secular movement will realize that there is a big role for them to play in defense of humanity. I am hopeful it will win because it is humane.

Thank you for supporting this human cause. Thank you for saying no to Shari’a court in Canada and everywhere.