Screwing the newly "liberated" women of Iraq

This article is pretty unbelievable.

Iraqi women, who were among the most liberated in the Arab world under the country's legal system, are seeing their rights stripped away by the U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), according to 44 U.S. lawmakers who are calling on President Bush to take urgent steps to address what they call a "brewing women's rights crisis."

...IGC resolution 137, approved by the 25-member IGC December 29, which replaces Iraq's 1959 personal-status laws--that could affect everything from the right to education, employment and freedom of movement, to property inheritance, divorce, and child custody--with religious laws to be administered by clerics from the country's different religious faiths, depending on the sect to which the parties in any dispute belonged.

..."In less than 15 minutes of discussions, the IGC--none of whose members were elected by Iraqis--passed Resolution 137 [Which would have to be approved by our Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) -tas], effectively abolishing women's legal rights in 'liberated' Iraq," said MADRE's associate director, Yifat Susskind. "Under the direct authority of the Bush administration, the IGC has privileged sectarianism over inclusiveness and violated core principles of democratic governance..."

Yeah, I guess we shouldn't be surprised, but WTF man? Read the whole thing, but only if you feel like being pissed off.