In a Man's World, is Iraqi Politics Ready to Embrace Women?

In the overwhelmingly male arena that is Iraqi politics, it was a striking sight. A local sports ground, an election rally and a candidate - a female candidate.

Zahra Hamza Ali is upbeat about her chances. In private interviews she speaks of speeding up dormant reconstruction projects in Basra province, of stability and security, but not to the exclusively male audience, who still insist that women in public life are seen and not heard.

The men, about 3,000 of them, rapturously waved vibrant Shia Islamic and political flags in the main Basra sports arena as they waited for the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, this week. Fathers wheeled in children maimed during years of war in the plaintive hope they would win an audience with the national leader during a rare visit to town. They left disappointed. But Hamza believes politics in Iraq is changing.

"We hope the political process leads to stability," she said. "Last year we started to feel safe in Basra and there is a better atmosphere here. We can even start to see some rebuilding."

Hamza is hardly a rare female candidate entering the tumult of Iraq's local elections today. Thanks to laws governing Iraq's provincial elections, women are to make up 30% of candidates - almost 4,000 out of 14,000 running for office in 14 of the 18 provinces holding polls.

But while the female candidates are touted as torch bearers of a new political openness, many claim they have been coerced, threatened and shunned by a society reluctant to accept them, and doubts are multiplying that the quotas will be met. "It may be close to that, but it may also be a long way short," said an official from the Independent High Election Commission. "Everyone is confused."

Equally uncertain is the role that any elected women will play in a traditional tribal-based society that hangs on to conservative values about gender roles and remains sceptical about women's contribution to the robust, blokey arena of Iraqi politics. Many candidates have reported playing no part in campaigning and feeling as though they are making up the numbers.

"Women in our electorate are very lazy and we cannot rely on them to get things done," said Baghdad manager Ayad al-Dumaini, echoing a position that reflected the views of the dozen or so men standing with him. "But in the south I hear it is different. Women in Basra play a much more important role in the family and are active in society."

Across Baghdad hundreds of banners of female candidates hang from blast walls alongside posters of beaming moustached men. Some have been defaced or torn down, but the new reality in political life is mostly being accepted here, with reservations.

Not so in the provinces, where the nominated female candidates are rarely seen and many are reluctant to discuss the policies of their parties. The party faithful at Maliki's modestly attended Basra rally was male only and the only women in the official welcoming party were the nine candidates. Two wore full black face veils.

Intisar Fakhri, a candidate from Ramadi, west of Baghdad, threw her hands in the air when asked about her run for politics. "How would I know," she said, looking to the heavens. "The first I knew about it was when my name was put on a list. Now I have to be in photos and come to these rallies.

"Maybe something good will come out of it, but we as women candidates are not having much say in how that will happen."

Fakhri is one of the nine women standing on Maliki's list in Basra province. Trained in chemistry but having traded a career to raise her four daughters and one son, she, like all other females contesting the election in Basra, is a political novice, struggling to comprehend the myriad rules that seem to make getting elected a lottery.

Zahra Hamza claims no one has stood in her way, or tried to force her to quit the race. "I have had all the support I need," she said. But other women report different experiences. Bombers have twice targeted Intisar Yousef, Baghdad-based candidate for the Iraqi Constitutional party, who is confident that she will end up in a winning position on her list.

Two other female candidates in northern Iraq are reported to have been killed, although the information could not be independently verified. Dozens of others have been threatened with death unless they pull out of the race, according to several party leaders. Four women pulled out on Thursday, according to Iraqi media. None would say why.

"I have lost three candidates in Karbala, Najaf and Diwaniya," said Iraqi National List leader Mithal al-Alusi. "People came to their doors and said they would kill them. What can I do? I cannot guarantee their safety."

Women have reported being threatened by Islamists for allowing images of themselves to be displayed. But a more common complaint seemed to be being ordered to stand for office, rather than to pull out.