Sun, June 25, 2006

Granger returns to Iraq to assist women

By DAVE MONTGOMERY
Star-Telegram Washington Bureau

Rep. Kay Granger has heard some horrific stories as she reaches out to help Iraqi women take a role in their violence-torn nation's new government.

Granger, a former Fort Worth mayor who is co-chairwoman of the Iraqi Women's Caucus in Congress, made her third trip to Iraq over the weekend. In a telephone interview Sunday en route back to the United States, the Republican lawmaker told of the harrowing day-to-day experiences of those she is reaching out to help.

"Almost every woman we worked with had someone in her family assassinated, and they all had to have bodyguards," Granger said, recalling her initial meetings with women parliamentary candidates. "What we didn't understand fully is how much danger there is for women."

The congressional organization was set up shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 to help women forge a role in the emerging government. Seventy-one women now hold 25 percent of the seats in the country's newly established parliament, an accomplishment that would have seemed inconceivable during Saddam Hussein's dictatorship.

Susan Dakak, an Iraqi-born U.S. citizen who heads the Women's Alliance for a Democratic Iraq, credits Granger for much of the spadework that has helped pave the way for women's advances in the still-turbulent country.

"What makes us feel good is we can always pick up the phone and call her office and ask for help," Dakak said last week.

The caucus' efforts have included basic instruction in fundamentals that would be second-nature to even junior political operatives in the United States, from putting out news releases to get-out-the-vote drives. Granger and other caucus members also sponsored visits to the United States by Iraqi and Afghani women to take them through a typical legislative day in Washington.

Although the exchanges have provided a nurturing climate for Iraq's women, they have also been an eye-opening experience for the mentors from Washington. Granger says she quickly came to appreciate the immense courage displayed by women who dare to run for office.

Two women candidates endured the deaths of their children at the hands of assassins; another aspiring office-holder was kidnapped.

Iraq's women have also been forced to confront enormous cultural and social challenges in trying to find their political voices. Although women represent nearly 60 percent of the population, they are often held by back by conservative religious traditions and gender discrimination.

A major breakthrough came when Radio Al-Mahaba went on the air last year as Iraq's first and only radio station for women. Broadcasting in three languages, the all-woman radio station invites women to share their opinions on a range of issues from health care to parenting.

Granger co-sponsored a congressional resolution commending the station as "a very positive development," saying it was crucial for "women to have a strong voice in Iraqi society."

Granger, who is the first and only female Republican to serve in the Texas House delegation, has also led congressional efforts to ensure that the Bush administration give a strong role to women as it helps develop Iraq's government. She co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last year urging that women "do not get sidelined" in writing a constitution.

During her latest trip, Granger met with Iraqi officials as well as U.S. troops. Other members of the congressional delegation included Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Judy Biggert, R-Ill.

Granger says she hopes to expand her efforts beyond Iraq to establish a women's leadership council to help women throughout the Middle East.

Judy Van Rest, executive vice president of the International Republican Institute, a non-partisan organization that works with the caucus, says the efforts by Granger and other members of the congressional group clearly produced tangible results.

"In general terms, there are a lot of opportunities now for women in Iraq," she said. The next step, she said, is assuring "that they are able to keep the rights they have obtained."