Iraq’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, earlier this week announced the names of the US-backed interim government that will begin June 30. The new government includes 33 ministers, of whom only six are women, making up 18 percent of Iraq’s caretaker government. Iraq’s Transitional Administration Law (TAL), however, has established a target of 25 percent of the seats for women in the interim assembly after extensive efforts made by Iraqi women, who mobilized and spearheaded a national drive to have at least 40 percent representation in decision-making bodies in Iraq.
The ministries that will be headed by women include the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the Ministry of Labor & Social Affairs, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Displacement and Migration.
Very few women have been appointed to leadership positions in Iraq. The 25-member US appointed Iraqi Governing Council included only three women. In addition, the 18-member committee that drafted the interim constitution did not include a single woman.
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