Lynne Cheney, who once presided over the National Endowment for the Humanities and subsequently sought out other duchies in the Culture Wars, isn’t much in the news these days except to kudo her husband on his forensic skills and give an occasional speech.
Behind the scenes, however, the second lady remains active in the halls of rightwingery that do much to set the American agenda. For instance, she sits, emerita, on the board of the
Independent Women’s Forum.
Thanks to bloggers Hannah at
Feministing.com and
Echidne, we learn that the IWF recently:
…has been awarded a grant to focus on the immediate promotion of women’s full political and economic participation in Iraq. The grant is part of the US Department of State’s $10 million Iraqi Women’s Democracy Initiative. As Iraqi women prepare to compete in Iraq’s January 2005 elections, IWF, in partnership with the American Islamic Congress and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, will provide leadership training, democracy education and coalition building assistance for 150 pro-democracy, Iraqi women leaders and political activists. …
"A new democratic era in Iraq has begun. However, the social and political barriers facing women in Iraq remain high," said Michelle D. Bernard, a senior fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum. "In order to fully realize women’s human rights in Iraq, all Iraqi citizens, particularly women, must have a good understanding of core principles of democratic governance."
Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal said, “Talk about an inside deal, the IWF represents a small group of right-wing wheeler-dealers inside the Beltway.” The IWF responded with a we’ve got as much right to be there as they do: "Neither the Feminist Majority nor any other women's organization has a monopoly on the principles and practice of democratic values or women's international human rights," said Michelle D. Bernard, senior fellow with the Independent Women's Forum. "This attack by Eleanor Smeal and company is wholly unwarranted."
IWF was the spin-off of Women for Clarence Thomas. Its first executive director was Barbara Ledeen, wife of
Michael Ledeen. Among other notables who have served on its board are Rumsfeld hagiographer
Midge Dector, who wrote a 1972 book called
The New Chastity and Other Arguments Against Women's Liberation, Ted Olson and Larry Kudlow (yes,
that Kudlow).
The IWF mission: “to combat the women-as-victim, pro-big-government ideology of radical feminism.”
Does it never end? The neo-con dream of building a “democratic” Iraq without all those government regulations that they say hampers business in America is now to be accompanied by what we used to call the ladies’ auxiliary? IWF’s views on domestic violence and a host of other issues relating to women’s societal role will surely be welcome in certain segments of Iraqi society. If their effort works out well, perhaps they can get another grant to carry the good word to that beacon of the new liberty Afghanistan, where,
Human Rights Watch reports:
Warlords and the Taliban are undermining Afghan women’s participation in the political process through ongoing threats and attacks, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Widespread intimidation of women and general insecurity threaten women’s right to vote freely in the October 9 presidential elections, stand for political office and fully participate in public life.
The 39-page report,
Between Hope and Fear: Intimidation and Threats Against Women in Public Life in Afghanistan, details how warlord factions, the Taliban and various insurgent groups attack and harass women government officials, election workers, journalists and women’s rights activists. …
“Many Afghan women risk their safety if they participate in public life,” said LaShawn R. Jefferson, executive director of the Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. “The Bush administration is particularly proud of the progress women have made. But Afghan women themselves say their hopes for even basic rights have gone unfulfilled.”
The October 9 presidential elections will be a key test of women’s ability to participate in the Afghan public sphere on an equal basis with men. An important sign of progress has been the large numbers of women registered to vote in many parts of the country. But multiple registrations have inflated official election figures, which state that 41 percent of the 10.5 million registered Afghan voters are women. Near the Pakistan border, continuing insecurity due to insurgents has contributed to women comprising less than 10 percent of registered voters in southern Zabul and Uruzgan provinces.
The failure of international donor countries—including the United States and Germany—to send promised funds on time and bolster security may adversely affect women’s participation on election day. The months leading up to the election have been punctuated with violence. So far, at least 12 election workers have been killed—at least three of whom were women—and dozens injured. Failing to enlist the thousands of female poll workers needed, election officials have resorted in some places to staffing female polling stations with local male elders.
The plight of Afghanistan’s post-Taliban women just isn’t seen as important enough for the Bush Administration to take much notice, even in an election where most of them will have to ask their husbands’ permission to vote.
As for Iraq, as Echidne notes, it’s almost funny to think that the Administration is so afraid of feminism that they have to send in the anti-feminists. I guess they don’t want another group of insurgents they can’t control.