Widening the Space for Women in Iraq by NPA and Sida.
With the support of the Norwegian NPA and the Swedish SIDA, the People
Development Organization PDO implemented the project with the aim of
developing the capacities of youth and women to secure stronger participation
in Iraq and the KRI. In addition to the 60 members of the women’s group who can
be considered volunteers.
The project has chosen many fields to achieve its objectives, including; Developing
women’s capacities through training courses, forming the “Women Are Powerful”
Association in Kurdistan, the “My name is from my mother’s name” campaign, and
an academic center to develop and strengthen women in terms of knowledge.
In one of its steps, the “Women Are Powerful” Association worked to enforce a
law on the employment of women in commercial announcements, and for that
it carried out many activities, including; An extensive press conference was held
in which a statement protesting the inappropriate use of women in commercial
advertisements was read. The association visited the Parliament and met with
the relevant committees to deliberate on the same issue. Participation in a
workshop in the Kurdistan Parliament on the laws of advertisements was another
step of the association’s work. It also organized a special panel for academics
and stakeholders to discuss gaps in the field of commercial advertisements,
and the association was able to sensitize more than 700 students from schools
in Sulaymaniyah Governorate in a series of seminars on women’s employment in
commercial advertisements, in addition to many field activities and the delivery
of campaign messages through Many different media and channels.
Another part of the project was the “My name is from my mother’s name”
campaign, where discussions were held with activists, lawyers, parliamentarians
and well-known personalities in Baghdad, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk and many
other regions.The campaign included the production of a short film entitled “The Hidden” that
tells the stories of children who have been exposed to many big problems in life
due to their lack of identity, and it was shown in many festivals and events.
As for the Academic Center for the Development and Strengthening of Women in
terms of knowledge, it completed two long-term courses with the participation of
30 girls and women who learned the lessons successfully.
As a result of the center’s activities, such as training and capacity development for
women, 20 trainers and more than 100 trainees were qualified in the governorates
of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk and Halabja and became involved in community
life.
A specialized and advanced media site was established to cover women’s issues,
presenting thousands of topics such as news, reports, success stories and followups on the problems of women and girls.