What will happen to Iraq’s Mandaeans?
In an interview with Al-Monitor, the first Iraqi woman to head a religious endowment, Nadia F. Maghamiss, talks about her plan to empower women of all sects and about the future of the Mandaeans, one of Iraq’s many religious minorities.
BAGHDAD — Unlike other religious minorities in Iraq, Sabian Mandaeans meet their election quota by selecting members within their community for parliament and provincial councils.
The community’s three bodies — the Spiritual Council, General Assembly and General Affairs Council — supervise and nominate Mandaeans for senior positions in Iraqi state institutions. A candidate’s name is then submitted in a letter from the community to the institution concerned, such as the Electoral Commission, parliament or presidency.
