Sondul Chapouk

Sondul Chapouk is a trained civil engineer, teacher, and women's activist. Chapouk, a "member of the Turkish-speaking Turkmen minority" from Kirkuk, in the north of Iraq, was the only Turk and one of only three women chosen to be on the Iraqi Governing Council. 

Sondul Chapouk "founded the Kirkuk-based Iraqi Women's Organization, which trains women in computer skills, agriculture, and literacy." 

Chapouk's name also appears as Songgul Chapouk and Songul Chapouk.

Women's Rights
From the Iraqi Council Position Papers presented by Robert Lange on behalf of Sondul Chapouk, undated:


 * "I am Sondul Chapouk; a school teacher, a trained engineer, a Turkmen, and a woman. I am one of the only three women on the council who will be representing the women of Iraq which make up over 55% of the population. They have been oppressed for years under Saddam's rule and their rights must not be forgotten. The change in government allows women to be granted the rights which they have desired for many generations. They will then be treated like human beings rather than cattle. I am a women's rights activist and it is time for women to take their place among men in the decision making process for Iraq. I will also be defending the rights of the Turkish people within Iraq. It has been suggested by the Kurds that only two major ethnic groups be represented in Iraq; Arabs and Kurds. This plan leaves out the Turks, Armenians, and Assyrians and therefore, making them minority groups. This does not sit well with any of the groups. If equality is not reached, it will be in the best interest of the Turks to create their own nation of Turkmenistan in northern Iraq."

Reconstruction of Iraq

 * "The two most important issues facing the council are security and the constitution, said Sondul Chapouk, a Turkman from Kirkuk who sits on eight committees. 'But it needs time. How can you build a house in one day? We need to build a strong base and that can't be done overnight,' said Chapouk, a civil engineer."

Abu Ghraib
"The Iraqi Governing Council should investigate and the nation's Human Rights Ministry should intervene, member Sondul Chapouk said.

"'During Saddam's time we rejected such acts and after the liberation we still reject them,' Chapouk said."

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Iraqi Constitution and women's rights
 * Iraqi Governing Council
 * Iraqi Governing Council Membership
 * Iraqi national elections
 * New Iraq
 * Post-war Iraq