Saddam Hussein

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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? ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”