Iraqi women condemn Iran’s meddling in elections

Iran Focus: Baghdad, Dec. 12 – Prominent women’s rights personalities from Iraq’s Diyala Province condemned on Monday “massive meddling by Iran” in their country’s internal affairs ahead of key elections this week. They called for widespread and active participation in the elections by Iraqi women to combat this threat. Iran Focus

Baghdad, Dec. 12 – Prominent women’s rights personalities from Iraq’s Diyala Province condemned on Monday “massive meddling by Iran” in their country’s internal affairs ahead of key elections this week. They called for widespread and active participation in the elections by Iraqi women to combat this threat.

“This time, all of us women will go to the ballot boxes and vote for national and democratic candidates. We will also put all our efforts in preventing the propaganda in the elections by the agents of the mullahs’ regime in Iran”, Feryal Majid-Hendi, a women’s rights activist, told the gathering.

The women called on the international community to help prevent Iranian meddling in Iraq.

Zekra Dawood-Jum’a agreed. “In these elections, we women must vote for currents, parties, and candidates that are opposed to fundamentalism and are not tied to the clerical regime [in Iran”>, since this regime and its mercenaries do not have the slightest respect for women’s rights and are unwilling to accept that women can determine their own fate”.

Dawood-Jum’a, who called on international organisations to increase the number of people they plan to dispatch to monitor the polls for riggings, said, “Only by choosing democratic and nationalist candidates can the people of Iraq, especially women, take hold of their rights”.

Robab Aboud-Azab told the gathering, “The meddling by Iran’s rulers in the election is the greatest danger to the security and stability of Iraq”.

While calling for active participation in Thursday’s elections by Iraqi women, Faten Ibrahim-Ra’ouf, said, “The Iranian regime and its proxies do not want women to take part in the elections. They have carried out terrorist and criminal actions such as the torture that took place in Jaderiya Prison and the attacks of the mosque in Khanaqin to scare people away from taking part in free and fair elections”.

Saeidia Thamer Farman, a prominent women’s rights activist, called on the Iraqi people to say “no to fundamentalism, and yes to democracy”.

“We see the day of the elections as a day which will determine the fate of Iraq and we are resolute not to allow fundamentalist currents determine our destiny”, she said.