ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish leaders on Saturday commemorated International Women’s Day, highlighting the sacrifices Kurdistan Region’s women have made and their resilience.
“Historically, women in Kurdistan have demonstrated remarkable bravery, resilience, and readiness in political struggles and resistance, as well as in many aspects of life. They have played a crucial role in the movement for freedom in Kurdistan and are actively involved in politics, economics, administration, and education today, making significant contributions to all areas of society,” Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement.
“While we take pride in the status and achievements of women in Kurdistan, we also acknowledge that more comprehensive efforts are necessary to protect their rights, shield them from violence and discrimination, and improve their status across all sectors,” he added.
Women have played a key role in Kurdish struggles to gain political and cultural rights while fighting successive Iraq regimes before the establishment of the Kurdistan Region in the early 1990s.
Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said in a congratulatory message on Saturday that “The women of Kurdistan exemplify sacrifice, perseverance, and dignity.”
“It is our collective duty to respect their status, rights, and aspirations. On this occasion, I extend my best wishes for happiness and success to all women of Kurdistan,” he added.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also said that women’s “resilience and sacrifice are imprinted in our national story.”
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said on Saturday that Iraq has made “notable progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 5 on realizing equality between women and men and empowering all women and girls.”
It added that the quota for women’s political participation has been met and Baghdad has “adopted comprehensive and ambitious frameworks to empower women.”
Both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region reserve quotas for female representatives in the parliament. In Iraq, women must make up at least 25 percent of the parliament, while in the Kurdistan Region that percentage is set at 30.
UNAMI also said that Iraq needs to do more.
“Much progress and many achievements have been realized in Iraq, however, more work is on the way including on legislation that will provide further protection to Iraqi women against violence, increase women’s participation in the labor force and pave the way for greater participation and representation for women in decision making institutions in all sectors,” read the UNAMI statement, expressing readiness to support Iraq in improving the status of women.
Earlier this year, the parliament approved controversial amendments to the Personal Status Law that permit people to choose between civil or religious regulations for matters such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance. For Shiites, the Jaafari school of law would apply, which allows marriage for girls as young as nine and boys at fifteen.
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