The Planned Progress of the Revolution

Comrades and Sisters,

I hope that this Congress will play its role in developing the principal ideas which will have their bearing not only on your work within the General Federation of Iraqi Women but also on the whole progress of this society and its triumphant Revolution. This is because the effective revolutionary movement in any sector of our society is reflected in all other sectors as long as it remains within the general trend of the basic plans and ideas conceived for the development of the society.

The title of 'struggler' dear Sisters, is not a small matter. It is not anyone in any society, not anyone in any stage of social development who can arrogate to himself the title of 'struggler'. Therefore, if the title of 'struggler' has a moral value with a distinctive and crucial weight in the evaluation of human beings and the political movements and parties to which they belong, it has to be earned. A 'struggler' is not a facile or ordinary title; it involves extraordinary obligations in return.

Two years ago I visited Yugoslavia and saw the monument of the Unknown Warrior on top of a hill overlooking Belgrade. The choice of that location, as I thought, was not simply a matter of chance, but was made deliberately, to put the graves of martyrs on top of that hill above the graves of other people who died an ordinary death. Those martyrs who gave all they had, deserved to be treated with distinction, even in their graves, from the rest of the people who led an ordinary life and had or would have an ordinary death.

I repeat and say that the tasks lying ahead of the General Federation of Iraqi Women include the building up of a strong, coherent family as a living cell in the body of our society. This, however, should be set against the responsibilities of the struggle is shouldered by women in every phase of our society's development. If everything we struggle for or seek as essential for our struggle can be easily obtained, it will not be possible to call ourselves 'strugglers'. The present generation of the Soviet Union may not be called a generation of strugglers. It was the previous generation who could be called strugglers, because they made sacrifices for the sake of the present generation. Of course, this generation is in its turn making some sacrifices for future generations, but these sacrifices form part of the general and ordinary trend of the development originally laid down through the firm willpower of the previous generation.

The strugglers of our society, men or women, Baathists or non-Baathists, the sons and daughters of this generation, are called upon to sacrifice so that the main stages of the future development of society may be covered according to the principal aims of the Revolution led by the Arab Baath Socialist Party. Wherever it may prove possible to help women in their efforts to give more to work and social construction, we should do so, and whenever we may find the resources do not exist for everything required, we should seek to work only within the available possibilities. We must also try to develop such possibilities into the most favorable form required. One of the rules of a correct balance is not to expect the provision of everything we regard as necessary to achieve the best. At the same time we must not hesitate in demanding what we consider necessary and possible to help women discharge their responsibilities for the struggle.

A serious question may occur to any of the delegates or any woman in Iraq outside this Congress, one that may arise during her work and lead occasionally to discussions, being concerned with the principles of the Revolution and having faith in their foundation and capacity to build up the new society. The question is: how could the Revolution strike and overcome the positions and interests of the oil monopolies and feudalism and wrest the exploiting ownership from their grip, how could it conquer the positions of the bourgeoisie in other fields as represented by their capitalist investments, and how could it challenge and overcome the deviationist attitudes and concepts related to the Pan-Arab struggle for the liberation of the usurped Arab lands, and again how could it defeat the strongest of imperialist interests by nationalizing the oil industry -how could the Revolution do all that and yet falter in attacking and dealing with some aspects of the legal position of women? This is a question, which must undoubtedly arise in the minds of some of you. We hear it in your discussions.

The Revolution has tackled those problems and positions with striking means and methods because in doing so it could lose only the exploiters while winning in return the whole people. But when the Revolution tackles some legal matters related to women without taking a balance of attitudes to the question of equality and its historical perspective, it will certainly lose a large segment of the people. On the strength of this explanation, another question surfaces- does that mean that the Revolution in building the new society will remain confined to the present limits of tackling the legal and judicial problems and the historical position of women because of the opposing mentality of those socially backward elements, or will the Revolution advance those limits in a revolutionary manner?

Avoiding the striking methods used by the Revolution in attacking the positions of the monopolies and feudalism does not mean relying on the retrogressive method of liberal evolution in transforming the status of women. The Revolution employs the other method of radical transformation synchronized and balanced with that of the whole of society.

When we say that women's emancipation will be balanced with the emancipation of society, we don't mean that women will remain in their bonds until the whole of society is liberated from all superstitions and backward thinking and traditions. When we call for balance, we don't overlook the importance of emphasis and the need for exceptional treatment in the matter of the emancipation of women and their equality with men. There is a difference between balance and equality .We don't mean that women should be anticipated with equivalent methods to those used in the emancipation of the whole of society. Our meaning is this: in women's emancipation the principle of balance must be maintained -that is, when the Revolution sets women free, it must take into consideration the degree and stage of development in our society.

One should not consider dealing with the question of women's rights in the same way as one considers in general dealing with the question of agrarian reform or nationalization of banks. One should not view the question of giving the emancipation of women a special importance in the same way as that of union activity in the teaching sector. Our views on women's emancipation and our concern for it ought to be distinct from and take priority over such matters but at the same time must remain related to them. The development of sections of society must be examined so that we may have an idea of the amount of pressure, which can be accommodated or absorbed by each of them. By doing so we can avoid the unnecessary loss of a section of our people and its conversion to an anti-revolutionary position because of its lack of knowledge and realization of the significance and justice of our measures. If we find, considering the legal questions pertaining to women or the historical position of women in building society, that some formulas are losing us a significant section of our society, we must not adopt them. Nevertheless, we must at the same time devise ways and means of reducing, after two or three years, the amount of loss and thus enabling the transformation process to go ahead. New conventions should replace the old and make the subsequent legislation easier.

Strengthening the economic status of women through both legal rights and social conventions is part of the liberation process. Strengthening and expanding the conditions which prohibit polygamy is also part of that process. The same can be said about limiting divorce with additional restrictions and wider and stricter conditions. The expansion of education and the provision of equal opportunities for men and women is another move in that direction. More important than anything is the liberation of women through active work and sincere participation in the reconstruction of society .We ought to bear in mind that the experiment in this country does not concern Iraq only but belongs also to the entire Arab nation. Indeed, we hope that it may have repercussions and relevance beyond the Arab homeland. Even if our people within Iraq fully understand our measures, we must not overlook the Arab nation beyond our borders in calculating the effects of any decision or programme, which we may adopt. In examining the experiences of other countries in this field, two points must be kept in mind. Firstly, our doctrine and theory of action have their own distinct character, which makes it impossible to copy the experiences of other peoples and their methods of treating such questions or social problems.

Secondly, we must not follow any example without observing the length of existence of the regime concerned and its circumstances and components. In considering the development process, there is a real difference between an eight-year-old government like our own and other governments of many years.

For instance, when considering women's present rights and status, we ought to ask ourselves what the rights of Bulgarian women were immediately after their Revolution. We should likewise examine the precise position and role of Iraqi women before the Revolution so that we may recognize what progress the Revolution has made according to its principles and their relationship with their application in practice. This will enable us to determine precisely the qualitative difference between what existed before the Revolution and what we have now. We must find out what stage of development has been reached by Bulgaria and others since the birth of their revolution. It must be also remembered when thinking about the Revolution in Iraq that it is for the entire Arab nation and one of the revolutions of the Third World, for we hope that its light may transcend the borders of the Arab homeland.

Such an appreciation does not imply that the bulk of our measures, which will establish the true historical position of women, depend on the entire Arab nation throughout the Arab homeland, or the people of the Third World, being convinced of the need for the emancipation of women.

The attitude of our Revolution towards the historical role of women and the formalization of this role within legal frameworks and accepted conventions is part of the strength of the Revolution and its impact on the Arab homeland and the countries of the Third World. The Political Report of the 8th Regional Congress of the Party deals with the development of new conventions in opposition to those now prevailing among certain elements and segments of our society. Basic education on this point will lead to a new convention which will make the majority of the people condemn the very acts that you condemn. Anti-feminist acts and ideas should be extensively condemned by men as well as by women in every section of our people. Unjustified divorce ought to be condemned everywhere. Polygamy ought to be condemned in every corner of our society. The political and philosophical framework for the correct approach was defined by the tenets of the Party and the Political Report of the 8th Regional Congress of the Party in Iraq.

Some 59 years have passed since the Revolution of the Soviet Union. If you examine the composition of the Politburo of the Communist Party, you will not find one woman among its members. If you do the same with the Central Committee of that Party and the vital organizations of the State, you will also find that the practical application of principles in this field as well as others is still far behind the ideological teachings and fundamentals.

When I speak of any experiment other than our own, I do not mean that it should be an example for us to follow or that we should wait 59 years before we can reach the level of the Soviet Union, because the Soviet peoples have their theories and we have our own.

They have their own approach and we have ours. Yet, we have at the same time to study the practical measures adopted in revolutionary experiences in the world so that we may form an opinion about them and about the importance of the correct use of flexibility in their application. In a previous talk to the representatives of workers and Party bureaus of labor I said that the injustices inflicted on Iraqi society, including the workers, resulted in a massive accumulation in which all the various unjust regimes of the past participated. Don't expect the injustice to be removed in one step. But the records of the revolutionary decisions and measures should indicate continuously, forcefully and courageously the reduction of the positions of injustice day after day with a stream of measures and regulations. The primary criterion is to evaluate any advances made by the revolutionary march and judge whether such advances are in balance with the principles advocated and with the development of our society's potential, its enlightenment and resilience. If the march shows a steady advance in keeping with the principles and with the ability of the people to endure and adjust, our march will then be the right one.

Rights are granted in such measure as may be compatible with the ability of the citizens concerned to make a proper use of them. It is necessary to highlight the role of the more conscious segments of the people in giving the lead to other citizens in implementing these rights carefully.

The Revolution led by your Party is seriously determined to liberate women. I don't say that in the way of propaganda. Nor is it my intention to give you psychological comfort only. It is no more than what we believe in harmony with our doctrines.

The stage which I have just mentioned, and which requires flexibility in our steps toward the desired goals, will not be long. It is not going to take a long time before women enjoy their full legal rights and occupies their historical place as planned in the construction of the new society of unity, liberty and socialism under the leadership of the Arab Baath Socialist Party.