DUHOK, Kurdistan Region - Berivan Navkhosh, the assistant head of the Akre health department in Duhok, is one of only two women hopefuls running in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
Running on an independent slate, Navkhosh says, “It is to show the public that there are independent individuals running for the parliament and to show that political parties are not the only ones who nominate candidates.”
Navkhosh was once a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the largest party in the Kurdistan Region, but says she has quit her membership in order to maintain her independence.
“I used to be a member of KDP, but it has been a while since I resigned from the party,” she says. “My family is KDP, but people who know me know that I am no longer a member of the KDP.”
Navkhosh says she will face the election challenge head-on, and would not give in to possible pressure from other groups, as has happened to some independent candidates in the past.
According to Navkhosh, women in the Akre region are educated and open-minded, and she hopes to represent them in the polls, which are due in April.
“With regard to the message of my candidacy, I would like to say that Kurdish women are as capable as Kurdish men,” she explains. “We are capable of doing what men do and what they are proud of doing.”
Navkhosh adds that she intends to rely solely on her own campaign to win votes, unlike some groups which allegedly buy votes with financial incentives.
“I will not be giving out money to people. That is not a good habit,” she explains. “I have given five million Iraqi dinars to the Iraqi Election Commission as part of the candidacy process, and if I don’t get elected I will lose that money. But I am sure I will be elected.”
Navkhosh is not deterred that people in the Akre region have already sent many candidates into the Kurdish and Iraqi parliaments. She remains confident that her service in the health department and her name among the local population will get her into parliament.
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