FEMALE SHIA COALITION SAY THEY DEFER TO 555

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000823 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2016 TAGS: PGOV PINR KWMN IZ SUBJECT: FEMALE SHIA COALITION SAY THEY DEFER TO 555 LEADERS ON PM QUESTION Classified By: Political Counselor Robert S. Ford for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) In a March 7 meeting with PolOffs, two female Shia Coalition parliamentarians declined to engage in discussion about Ibrahim Jafari's struggle to hang on to the PM nomination. Re-elected Council of Representatives member Iman Khalil Sha'lan al-Assadi said that the decision about the PM nomination is reserved for the heads of the Shia Coalition parties. She expressed hope that the decision will be reached by consensus. ¶2. (C) Al-Assadi also revealed the existence of a committee within the Shia Coalition that is reviewing the Constitution and determining what can and cannot be amended. She mentioned federalism, the mention of Islam as a source of law, and the references to marjaiya as "red lines" that cannot be amended. When asked if there were any changes she would recommend, she answered that there were none. ¶3. (C) Both al-Assadi and Ijra Faisal Oda were willing, however, to discuss the pitfalls of creating a National Security Council. Al-Assadi said it would result in diminished credibility and authority if created without the legislature's consultation or vote. Instead, al-Assadi proposed that the Council of Representatives be asked to activate the Constitution's provision (Article 65) to establish the majlis al-Itihad (Federation Council) that would discuss important issues and make decisions. ¶4. (C) BIONOTE -- ODA: In 1999, Ijra Faisal Oda graduated from medical school. Although she is from a conservative family, her medical degree afforded her the opportunity to travel for two years around Iraq and complete her residency. Oda, a general surgeon, continues to practice medicine. Oda says her exposure to politics began with her cousins who were Dawa party members. One cousin was arrested and executed due to these political ties. According to Oda, SCIRI leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim personally selected her to become a full member of SCIRI. She said Hakim went as far as to visit her home to ask her parents' permission. Oda has 6 brothers and 7 sisters. Oda founded a women's cultural organization to spread awareness of the value of education. ¶5. (C) BIONOTE -- ASSADI: Badr Organization political member Iman Khalil Sha'lan al-Assadi studied at an institute to become an anesthesiologist. Soon after she studied at a medical college and became a nurse. She graduated top in her class and was asked by her teachers to join the faculty. After two years she was forced to resign her post and went on to study law. However, she was refused entrance to university graduate legal studies due to failing her language efficiency exam. Al-Assadi said she then enrolled in language school for one year to perfect her English. According to al-Assadi, she was purposely flunked because she was Shia. She eventually gained entrance to a law college and received two masters degrees (international law and international maritime law). She said that when the dean of her law college needed teachers after the end of the Saddam regime in 2003, he asked her to become a faculty member. ¶6. (C) Al-Assadi said her exposure to politics started in 1982, when her two brothers were imprisoned due to their affiliation with Dawa. One brother was executed in the 80's and the other was killed during the 1991 uprising. Al-Assadi served as the Secretary to the Transitional National Assembly (TNA) Legal Committee. She was one of two women on the TNA Constitutional Drafting Committee. During boisterous TNA sessions, she commanded the floor and read laws out loud for passage, insistent that the group adhere to the agenda. In her spare time, al-Assadi established a foundation called the Dialogue for Democracy for Iraqi women. She said that it is a non-SCIRI/Badr affiliated NGO. KHALILZAD