There is one female minister- Nisreen Mustafa Bawari. After she was sworn in, she started shaking the hands of Al-Chalabi, Talabani and Al-Jaffari, like her male counterparts. Al-Jaffari refused to shake her hand because Al-Da’awa consider it a ‘sin’ to touch a female who isn’t a direct relation.

Mohammed Jassim Khudhair (Minister of Expatriates and Immigration) wasn’t wearing a tie. Many Muslim fundamentalists (like the ones in Iran) don’t wear ties because they believe that along with the head, and arms, there’s symbolism of a ‘cross’ and a cross symbolizes Christianity and… well, you get the picture.