Edward Erickson

Foreign Correspondent

IRAQ – One of the more exciting things to emerge from the new Iraqi constitution was a firm commitment to the idea of women’s rights. In theory, and now firmly embedded in the constitution, Iraqi women enjoy the full spectrum of rights that Iraqi men enjoy.

By the law of the land, Iraqi women should be included, minimally at least, in all levels of the Iraqi government. I work in the Ministry of Defense, which is the largest Iraqi government agency, and I have been watching the dynamics of this on-going process of almost a year now. Unsurprisingly, it's not going well.

There a number of women employed by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, but none serves in any position higher than a mid-grade civil service position. If I were to put a U.S. face on things, Iraqi women do not seem to get much higher than about GS-12 level.