Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) representatives in Washington, D.C., held a congressional briefing entitled “Empowerment Change; women shaping peace and security in the Kurdistan Region” in the U.S. Congress on July 23, 2024.
The congressional briefing focused mainly on critical issues concerning women, peace, and security in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
KRG Representative to the United States Treefa Aziz began the briefing by delivering a speech on the KRG’s commitment to empowering women and advancing women’s rights. She emphasized the importance of leadership roles for women within the government and enacting laws to combat domestic violence. She also underlined the KRG’s commitment to supporting educational programs for women and girls, promoting economic training programs, and providing access to free healthcare.
KRG Representation in the US organized a Congressional Briefing in Washington, D.C. entitled “Empowering Change: Women Shaping Peace and Security in the Kurdistan Region” pic.twitter.com/DvUUqVqAcZ
— Kurdistan Chronicle (@KurdChronicle) July 23, 2024
KRG Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources Begard Talabani highlighted the role of women in the government, mentioning that three women are serving in the ninth KRG cabinet for the first time in history. She also pointed out that the judicial branch is currently made up of 270 judges, 69 of which are women, and that the Kurdistan Region has 369 non-governmental organizations that focus mainly on women’s issues.
Minister Talabani also spoke about her own experience as a woman in a leadership. She discussed her efforts as the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources to assist women business owners in combating the challenges that women still face. She shed light on the importance of implementing a law that grants women the right to land ownership, a right that was previously only granted to men.
Recap of a recent Congressional Briefing in Washington, D.C. entitled “Empowering Change: Women Shaping Peace and Security in the Kurdistan Region." pic.twitter.com/CJaAUM5keT
— Kurdistan Chronicle (@KurdChronicle) July 27, 2024
Another key women speaker at the event was KRG High Council for Women and Development Secretary General Dr. Khanzad Ahmed.
Dr. Ahmed thanked Congress for their support through governmental and non-governmental institutions. She emphasized the critical role of the High Council for Women and Development and efforts to enhance women’s rights and opportunities across the region.
Representative @treefa_aziz discusses the KRG’s commitment to empowering women and advancing women’s rights by promoting leadership roles within the government, enacting laws to combat domestic violence, supporting educational programs for women and girls, promoting economic… pic.twitter.com/s0SbL1xpzo
— KRG-USA (@KRG_USA) July 23, 2024
Another guest speaker at the event was Shireen Khudeda, a 30-year-old Yezidi survivor of the genocide perpetrated by ISIS. She recently graduated from the American University of Kurdistan and was awarded the Honor of Resilience by KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. She shared her own survival story and talked about her family – her father was killed by ISIS and she was among the thousands of women and men that were captured by the terrorist group – and the mental challenges she went through as a result of the genocide.
Khudeda was in her last year of high school, preparing for final exams, when ISIS attacked her village, Hardan, in the Sinjar District of Nineveh Governorate. Captured with her family, she made a daring escape in February 2017 to Duhok. She shared her story with the audience in Congress.
Lastly, she talked about her graduation commencement ceremony and the immense happiness she felt standing before hundreds of people, including her sister, brother, and friends. “My dream came true with an extra bonus: the Honor of Resilience from the Prime Minister, something I did not expect,” she said.
