Governing Council Shiites Walkout Over Womens' Rights

The Washington Post reports that work on drafting Iraq's interim constitution was halted when Shiite members of Iraq's Governing Council walked out in a dispute over women's rights.

The walkout highlights the divisions between the country's two principal religious groups as the Governing Council struggles to form a transitional government and makes it less likely that the Saturday deadline for drafting an interim constitution will be met:

Several members and their aides said the protest provided the clearest indication yet of the political gulf between majority Shiites, who largely favor a greater role for Islamic law, and minority Sunnis, who prefer a more secular system.

The disagreement stemmed from a decision to vote on a resolution introduced by some Shiites that would have imposed sharia, or Islamic law, in adjudicating divorces, inheritances and other family matters. When the resolution was rejected by Sunni members and a few liberal Shiites, two dozen women who had been invited into the council chamber erupted into applause, prompting the eight Shiite members to leave.

"They didn't like it," said council member Mahmoud Othman, a Sunni Kurd. "The women were cheering, so they got upset and they walked out."

The departure deprived the 25-member council of a quorum and halted work on the drafting of the interim constitution, which was scheduled to begin after the vote. Although it was viewed by some in the chamber as political theater, the walkout was the latest in a series of tense disagreements between Shiites and Sunnis about the shape of Iraq's interim government.

Several Shiite members have renewed their insistence in recent days that Islamic law be the sole source of legislation, instead of one source among many, as Sunnis and the Bush administration favor. If Islam were to become the sole basis of legislation, some religious moderates fear it could mean the loss of long-standing women's rights and the introduction of such punishments as cutting off a thief's hand

The role of Islamic law is one the most important factors which will determine the nature of the new Iraq. Arab and Kurdish Sunni leaders said they were unwilling to bend on the issue of Islamic law. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of Iraq, has indicated that he will veto any interim constitution that makes Islam the sole source of legislation.