Iraq: Feb ‘08
IWPR report on under-representation of Kurdish women politicians in upper echelons of power gives party leaders food for thought.
Iraq: Feb ‘08
IWPR report on under-representation of Kurdish women politicians in upper echelons of power gives party leaders food for thought.
An Iraqi Crisis report about Iraqi Kurdish women lacking political power has prompted leaders in the north to address the subject, according to women’s rights representatives and advocates.
The report, Kurdish Women Hit Glass Ceiling, by IWPR trainee Barham Omar in Sulaimaniyah, detailed the hurdles Iraqi Kurdish women face in obtaining political power. Despite having progressive attitudes to women’s rights,
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party do not have any female representatives among the decision-making ranks of the party.
The two parties, which dominate politics in the north and also hold substantial power in Baghdad, have just two female ministers in the 40-minister Kurdistan Regional Government. Women serve in the KRG’s Peshmarga military forces and the Kurds have a female minister in Baghdad. Female Iraqi Kurdish representatives are hoping that KDP and PUK will include more women leaders in the parties.
Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the KRG’s high representative to the UK, said the ICR story “went everywhere in the KRG administration”.
"The story has raised a very critical issue at the right time because both the KDP and PUK are making changes in their parties in 2008," said Mahabad Qaradaghi, a women’s activist and a former equality affairs advisor for Iraqi Kurdistan prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani.
The PUK is expected to hold a congress this year to elect party leaders. The KDP is also considering reforms.
While Shireen Amedi is the highest-ranking female KDP official, she is not a member of the party’s politburo. She said that after the story was published, KRG president Massoud Barzani told new young members of the KDP at a ceremony that women should hold more power in the KDP.
"I can unequivocally state that this story was one of the best stories written on women’s issues," said Amedi. "These kinds of stories will encourage us, as women, to continue work to achieve our rights."
Qaradaghi maintained, "The story will definitely help shape public opinion inside and outside of Kurdistan. It will encourage women to have stronger voices in the parties and reach higher levels of power."
The Kurdish Globe, an English-language newspaper in the Iraqi Kurdistan capital of Erbil, led with a mention of IWPR’s “Glass Ceiling” article in a story that questioned the effectiveness of the KRG’s civil society initiatives.
Iraq editor Mariwan Hama-Saeed said the story may generate further discussion because it is being picked up by the Kurdish-language press.
“There haven’t been many stories about women and power, which is why IWPR decided to write about this issue,” said Hama-Saeed. “We wanted to break the ice, and we hope that this is just the beginning of the discussion about this problem.”
Meanwhile, ICR reports continue to have an impact internationally. This month, it emerged that lawyers representing asylum seekers from Iraq and other countries often use IWPR’s output when building a case.
Barrister Samantha Knights of Matrix Chambers, London, specialises in immigration and asylum work. She said that IWPR reports were regularly used by lawyers as evidence of the current situation in countries to which clients were in danger of being removed.
Knights said that she had recently used an IWPR Iraq report in a test case in which Iraqi nationals were appealing a decision to refuse them protection against the risk of harm by indiscriminate violence in a situation of internal armed conflict.
She said that she thought that in principle IWPR reports would be considered by advocates as trustworthy and reliable enough to be submitted as evidence in a particular case.
"I will often use reports from the Home Office, from other governments such as the US State Department, and from NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty - bodies which provide overviews of particular situations,” she said.
“However, you might have a case where you need information about what's going on right now or about a more specific point which may not always be covered be other reports. That's when I would use IWPR.”
Tiare Rath is IWPR’s Middle East editor.
The report, Kurdish Women Hit Glass Ceiling, by IWPR trainee Barham Omar in Sulaimaniyah, detailed the hurdles Iraqi Kurdish women face in obtaining political power. Despite having progressive attitudes to women’s rights,
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party do not have any female representatives among the decision-making ranks of the party.
The two parties, which dominate politics in the north and also hold substantial power in Baghdad, have just two female ministers in the 40-minister Kurdistan Regional Government. Women serve in the KRG’s Peshmarga military forces and the Kurds have a female minister in Baghdad. Female Iraqi Kurdish representatives are hoping that KDP and PUK will include more women leaders in the parties.
Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the KRG’s high representative to the UK, said the ICR story “went everywhere in the KRG administration”.
"The story has raised a very critical issue at the right time because both the KDP and PUK are making changes in their parties in 2008," said Mahabad Qaradaghi, a women’s activist and a former equality affairs advisor for Iraqi Kurdistan prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani.
The PUK is expected to hold a congress this year to elect party leaders. The KDP is also considering reforms.
While Shireen Amedi is the highest-ranking female KDP official, she is not a member of the party’s politburo. She said that after the story was published, KRG president Massoud Barzani told new young members of the KDP at a ceremony that women should hold more power in the KDP.
"I can unequivocally state that this story was one of the best stories written on women’s issues," said Amedi. "These kinds of stories will encourage us, as women, to continue work to achieve our rights."
Qaradaghi maintained, "The story will definitely help shape public opinion inside and outside of Kurdistan. It will encourage women to have stronger voices in the parties and reach higher levels of power."
The Kurdish Globe, an English-language newspaper in the Iraqi Kurdistan capital of Erbil, led with a mention of IWPR’s “Glass Ceiling” article in a story that questioned the effectiveness of the KRG’s civil society initiatives.
Iraq editor Mariwan Hama-Saeed said the story may generate further discussion because it is being picked up by the Kurdish-language press.
“There haven’t been many stories about women and power, which is why IWPR decided to write about this issue,” said Hama-Saeed. “We wanted to break the ice, and we hope that this is just the beginning of the discussion about this problem.”
Meanwhile, ICR reports continue to have an impact internationally. This month, it emerged that lawyers representing asylum seekers from Iraq and other countries often use IWPR’s output when building a case.
Barrister Samantha Knights of Matrix Chambers, London, specialises in immigration and asylum work. She said that IWPR reports were regularly used by lawyers as evidence of the current situation in countries to which clients were in danger of being removed.
Knights said that she had recently used an IWPR Iraq report in a test case in which Iraqi nationals were appealing a decision to refuse them protection against the risk of harm by indiscriminate violence in a situation of internal armed conflict.
She said that she thought that in principle IWPR reports would be considered by advocates as trustworthy and reliable enough to be submitted as evidence in a particular case.
"I will often use reports from the Home Office, from other governments such as the US State Department, and from NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty - bodies which provide overviews of particular situations,” she said.
“However, you might have a case where you need information about what's going on right now or about a more specific point which may not always be covered be other reports. That's when I would use IWPR.”
Tiare Rath is IWPR’s Middle East editor.
