Happy March 8 - International Women’s Day !

Long Live Full Equality between Women and Men

 

 Since the beginning of March 8 celebration almost a century ago, this day has always been associated with the civilized humanity’s struggle to end capitalism and establish a system free of discrimination, suppression, and deprivation. The fight of women for equality, social justice, and freedom has always been part of the battles of that great exploited class - the working class, and endeavor for its salvation from the capitalist exploitation and the achievement of a socialist and humane society.

 

Today the bourgeoisie is launching a reactionary and vile attack on women, workers, and youth. It is using all its arsenal of weapons especially religion with its misogynist values to attack all principles of freedom and equality in our society. In Iraq the slavery and exploitation of women are being reproduced with the utmost grotesque of ways. After decades of violations against women by the nationalist movement represented by the Ba’ath party regime and the Kurdish nationalist parties, come the attacks of Political Islam on the woman's rights through its attempts to impose an Islamic state in Iraq.

 

These attempts are met with the condemnation and denouncement of all women in Iraq who found themselves face to face with the Islamic – nationalist ugly beast after the U.S vicious war and the intensification of conflict between the two international poles of terrorism; the terrorism of the western states lead by the U.S and the terrorism of Political Islam.

 

The ascension of Political Islam to power in Iraq through the so-called elections, and its attempts to Islamize the society with the other anti-U.S Political Islamic groups and the Ba’ath remnants, puts women in a dangerous position. An Islamic government in Iraq will increase the domination of Islam over the lives of millions of Iraqi women resulting in an all-out attack on their civil and individual rights, even on those simple rights they had gained in their bitter decades-long struggles.

 

A Political Islamic government in Iraq means an attack on the equality between women and men, and the freedoms of women in all; social, economic, political, and legal aspects will be in great danger. They will be put under the yoke of a backward, misogynist, and brutal movement which has been recently positioned in a U.S.A-made parliament to continue the dark scenario and to reinforce the rightwing hegemony in Iraq.

 

The Left Worker-communist Party of Iraq puts itself at the forefront of the civilized masses calling for the complete equality of women with men and the attainment of their utmost rights in all state laws without any intervention from Islam or any other religious authority. Our party calls for the complete separation of religion from state and education system and the formation of a secular non-nationalist state in Iraq. We call for a state which does not approve a constitution based on the division of citizens upon nationalist, ethnic, sectarian, tribal, racial, or gender considerations and that the women are considered as citizens of equal and complete rights with men and in all fields.

 

On this day we believe that the struggle of women in Iraq must continue, in order to achieve full equality and freedom. This include but not restricted to: the right of dress, the right to choose the partner or lover, the right of religion and the right to be free of religion (atheist), freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom to choose a residence, freedom to travel a lone without a male-relative companion, freedom to study and scientific research, the right to participate in all aspects of the social, political and economical activities in society without any discrimination.

 

Let’s make March 8 this year, a day of an invigorated new struggle for all the women’s and worker-socialist’s movement against all attempts to undermine women’s position in society. Let’s make the International Women’s Day a beautiful celebration of all women side by side with workers, socialists, secularists of Iraq in order to build a humane and happy society worth of humans.

 

Long Live March 8 – the international Women’s Day

Long live Women Solidarity for Freedom and Equality

Long Live Socialism

 

The Left Worker –communist Party of Iraq - LWPI

20 February 2005