Iraqi Women Empowered

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This is an older article but might be of some interest to the group. It is
a small part of what the Men and Women of the US are fighting both in combat
and through civil action and interactions to achieve.

Increasing Opportunities for Education
USAID programs promote education for

women and girls to allow them to fully

participate and benefit from the development

of a prosperous Iraq.

In the 2003-2004 school year, female

attendance increased from pre-war rates, with

1.9 million girls in primary school (46 percent

of all primary students) and 580,000 (40

percent of all secondary students) in

secondary schools.

The Ministry of Education and communities

rehabilitated more than 2,300 schools to

ensure that students learn in a safe,

comfortable environment. The work included

separation of toilets and dressing rooms for

girls and young women. With USAID funds,

UNICEF will provide separated bathroom

facilities to an additional 1,150 schools in the

next year.

The Ministry of Education trained more than

33,000 teachers and administrators, which

included more than 17,000 females, in new

skills that will improve the quality of teaching

in Iraq's classrooms.

Five higher education university partnerships

are allowing university students to travel

internationally to other universities and

participate in training and graduate programs.

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Marshlands Restoration

The Iraq Marshlands Restoration Program will

restore the ecosystem of the ancient southern

marshes and assist national and local efforts to

provide social and economic assistance to marsh

dwellers. Many of these households are headed

by women. Program activities target them for

income and employment opportunities. Crop and

livestock production, fish farming, and

reconstructed wetlands will provide access and

opportunities for women. The marshlands

program works closely with an Iraqi NGO which

provides healthcare in the isolated marsh areas

through clinics.

Health

Iraqi women are benefiting from the restoration

of health clinics, hospitals, and laboratories.

USAID is assisting the Ministry of Health to

renovate 52 primary health care clinics and reequip

an additional 600. High-protein rations

have been given to 240,000 pregnant and

nursing mothers and malnourished children

during 2003. A new program in rural areas

provides supplies and training to birthing

attendants and will benefit a total of 440,000

women.

In an effort to improve the quality of care

provided to women, USAID assisted the

Ministry of Health to train primary health care

providers with an emphasis on maternal and

child health care. More than 700 doctors have

been trained in Wasit, At' Tamim, Al Basrah,

Karbala', An Najaf, Ninawa', and Dhi Qar

Governorates.

Women in Local Government

USAID's Local Governance Program

strengthens government institutions and works

with citizens to help them understand their rights

and responsibilities. The LGP has actively

recruited women to serve on governorate,

municipal, and neighborhood advisory councils

throughout the country. In Baghdad governorate,

there are two to three women members serving

on each of the 88 neighborhood councils and 14

district councils. In Babil, Najaf, Qadisiyah, and

Wasit Governorates, there are between one and

three women on each neighborhood and district

council. Although the percentage of women

members serving on new advisory councils is

small, their participation is the first step towards

increasing female participation in political

processes.

USAID funded conferences and training have

helped women learn about democracy, human

rights, women's legal rights, women's health

issues, business marketing, micro-finance and

computer skills. USAID supports women's civil

society organizations that enable women to

advocate for their needs at both the local and

national government levels.

Women's participation in politics can be

challenging as women in Iraq often are not

encouraged to become involved. USAID works

with women to gain the support of their families,

communities, and government representatives

accept their participation in Iraq's political and

economic sectors.

Many women's associations teach job-training

and sewing skills.

Agriculture

Women have a disproportionately larger role in

Iraqi rural households than in other Arab

countries, due to male casualties in the Iran-Iraq

war. This program trains women and men in

improved crop and livestock production

technologies, market development, financial

management skills, business planning and rural

credit, and improved resource management.

Women's Political Participation

In Baghdad, USAID helped form Women and

Child Committees in the nine District Advisory

Councils of Amanat Baghdad to focus on

women's issues within the district and

neighborhood councils as well as the Interim

City Advisory Council. Committee chairs meet

to formulate common goals among districts,

such as how to manage viable

nongovernmental organizations and use

media and communications. The Women and

Child Committees organized regular panel

discussions on Women and Politics and The

Role of Women in Civil Society.

More than 1,500 women attended a

conference in Baghdad on February 26, 2004

on "The Role of Women in the New Iraq". The

conference was hosted by the Iraqi

Foundation for Development and Democracy,

a Baghdad based NGO. USAID invited more

than 200 women from 17 Governorates to

share their views and concerns for the future

of women in Iraq. The women discussed the

Iraqi Governing Council Regulation 137, the

Personal Code, and helped insert Article

30(C) into the Transitional Administrative Law,

which provides 25 percent representation of

women in the Transitional National Assembly.

A group of delegates visited members of the

Interim Governing Council to present their

concerns about the role of women in the new

Iraq.

Women's Organizations

In Iraq, women and girls often lack the tools

and support to become active and equal

citizens of a democracy. USAID's Iraq

Transition Initiative (ITI) will establish 12

regional women's centers that offer literacy

classes, job skills, information on health care,

legal services, and a sanctuary from domestic

violence. Centers have opened throughout the

country and more will open in the near future.

In addition to this initiative, ITI also helped the

Baghdad Women's Centers Foundation form

women's centers in each of Baghdad's nine

districts. The first center opened on March 8th,

2004 and a second center is complete and will

open shortly. USAID will give books, supplies

and equipment to the nine women's

centers. The centers will serve as meeting

places and training centers to empower

women and assist them on the road to

financial independence.

Women's Rights

ITI supported women's rights awareness and

democracy education through training courses,

lectures and the distribution of materials for

women that focus on the fundamentals of

democracy and principles of human rights. One

way that ITI has conducted these activities is

through mobile teams that travel to remote areas

of Iraq and provide women with health and social

services, crisis and abuse intervention, as well as

with information on democracy and civic

participation. More than 8,000 women have

access to these services.

Excerpted from;
http://www.cjtf7.com/coalition-news/humanitarian-efforts/iraq_women_0504.pdf

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