Saddam Hussein

“ Our understanding must not be based on any deviated line lest we should allow these circumstances to rule us and become a barrier against development. We must understand them with a view to changing them for the better in accordance with a revolutionary programme through which the whole position of women in our society and their historical role in building it may be changed.
To ignore the objective circumstances is a deviation and an erroneous view. Accepting the objective circumstances as a justification for refraining from action and progress is also a deviation. ”

“ The equality of rights, which we call for will not be affected by women's inability to serve in the armed forces on a large scale and on a permanent basis, because what we are demanding is confirmation of equality between man and woman in their respective roles in the building up of the new society with all its obvious consequences for her legal, social, political and economic status. Whilst women are incapable of performing permanent service on a wide scale in the armed forces, especially in the combat units, men are likewise incapable of looking after children as women do in general. ”

“ Can we, however, immerse ourselves continually during our day to day detailed work in discussions on woman's capacity in order to prove with evidence and examples that she is capable, like man, of taking up any career and fulfilling any duty? ”

“ Therefore, we ought to stress the equality and the balance of rights. We must emphasize our rejection of the views, which give women a secondary status. We cannot accept the feudalist and tribal outlook and mentalities. ”

“ The capabilities of women in present society are the result of the prevailing objective circumstances. Society as a whole, and not only women, bear the responsibility for the main features of the shortcomings. ”

“ The study submitted today by the General Federation of Iraqi women on women of Iraq and their role in building the new society, and particularly that part of it which included frank and courageous self-criticism of women's negative aspects, is a serious attempt to participate in the construction of the revolutionary society .One of the important positive elements here is that the men who participated in the discussions objected to the injustice' done to women in that criticism. ”

“ Sometimes some of you called for the abolition of the guardianship over women on the ground that they have reached sufficient maturity and ability to act independently. Others demanded that it should be maintained in deference to the conditions with which woman is surrounded. ”

“ They and their agents are looking for a technical opportunity, a technical error or a mistaken tactical action to expand it into an opportunity at a strategic level for the sake of counter-revolution. ”

“ People with these attitudes cannot. feel enthusiastic about the Revolution as policies to be implemented whilst not absorbing its ideological conceptions, premises and spirit. We are trying to transform such people by engulfing them, that is by using the continuous movement of society and the embracing of the Revolution by the majority as a motivating force to inspire such people to change their negative attitudes and refrain from their irksome behavior. ”

“ Both views are wrong and should be avoided because if we allow ourselves to adopt either of them in trying to treat social problems, including those related to women, we run the same risk of postponing socialism on the grounds of inadequate circumstances. ”

“ The best indication is to differentiate between those, on the one hand, who define the objective circumstances and propose a revolutionary programme to change them and replace them with new requirements and circumstances, which can provide the right conditions for the application of socialism in the time and place required, and on the other, those who frighten the people and the planners from taking that step by misleading reference to the existing circumstances which they consider unalterable and exaggerating them for purposes of obstruction. ”

“ Both are essential tasks in society.
My advice to all Iraqi women is to concentrate on the correct approach for tackling this matter, the approach, which puts men in a practical and psychological position that is more inclined to be sympathetic than hostile towards women on this issue. This correct approach lies in the points, which I have mentioned and not in occupying ourselves with citing evidence and examples to show that any job or task performed by a man can be as readily performed by a woman. ”

“ As the imperialists found they could no longer directly seize a strategic opportunity from the Revolution to use in their counteraction, they started, in cooperation with their agents, to look for a 'technical ' opportunity. ”

“ Don't imagine that the question of training of women in the use of weapons, for example, will be passed over lightly by the leadership without extensive deliberation. We have indeed spent a considerable time in discussing the enrolment of Iraqi women in the People's Army before adopting the proposal on certain principles. ”

“ Some non-socialists project the objective circumstances in certain ways, which are designed to reinforce their arguments for suspending the socialist march on the pretext that conditions are inadequate. We can discover who is a socialist and who is not by various indicators and features. ”

“ We must stress this point and say that when the objective circumstances are changed for the better, the capabilities of the woman will similarly change. In this way, our judgment will be sound, our argument compelling and our losses will be reduced. ”

“ Wherever this method proves ineffective with some individuals who insist on maintaining their backward attitudes, it will then become vital to transfer them from their posts and put them outside the scope of the march. ”