Some Iraqi NGOs concluded after a survey that women were better off under Saddam than they are now. The article quotes two women who are involved in these NGOs. The argument seems focused on political representation.
There are problems with the argument. Some women did well under Saddam, but not all. Saddam dragged his country into a war with Iran and later Kewait, and his regime benefitted from the sanctions, all of which were devastating for the majority of women of Iraq. His totalitarian regime was bad for men and women. So to say that women did well under Saddam is a one tenth of a truth. Yes, if they supported the regime, they could be elected. Women could move around more freely then than now because it was a totalitarian police regime that imposed internal 'stability' which came at a high cost. So they didn't have the chaos that they have now, but that has nothing to do with "respect."
What I mean to say is that I find articles and surveys like this meanigless under scrutiny. Yes, Iraqi women now are experiencing such violence that makes their conditions at any other point in history seem better. But that is not saying much.
So stop the talk about how good Saddam was to women.
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