Erbil women’s forum on terrorism ends with call for state action
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The National Conference for Enhancing Women to Combat Terrorism concluded on Tuesday in Erbil with a panel discussion addressing the role of the state as well as non-state actors in empowering Iraqi and Kurdish women.
The two-day forum was attended by more than 100 activists from civil society organizations, international and local NGOs, law experts, representatives of various religious communities and foreign as well as national researchers.
In a panel titled “The Role of Women in Building Peace in Iraq: Challenges and a Way Forward,” speakers shared their ideas on the role of civil society, the United Nations and religious organizations to strengthen Iraqi and Kurdish women to participate in decision making, combating ISIS and peace-building.
Panelist Pakhshan Kakawais, the head of the Erbil sub-office at UN Women, warned that despite all the efforts by the UN and international organizations to support female victims of terrorism, governments needed to take action for plans to reach the implementation stage. She called government “the first major partner of the UN.”
“The UN and NGOs’ plans to empower women will not succeed if government fails to take serious steps to implement the plans,” Kakawais said. She also explained the goals the UN is following to help female victims of war, including relief and recovery as well as prevention.
“Prevention is even much more important for us, because what we need to do is to avoid the disaster before it comes to us. This can be done through strengthening women’s capabilities and raising their awareness,” she added.
Speaker Boriana Jonsson, the executive director of Euromed Feminist Initiative, praised the role of national NGOs and civil society to address and resolve women’s problems. “International and national NGOs are the strongest tool to address women violence,” Jansson explained during the final panel of the conference.
Part of the discussion covered the issue of financial support for women and government funds for NGOs working on female development cases. Some of the attendees, however, cast doubt on the governments’ abilities.
“The conference was useful to address the women’s current issues, but with this situation, it seems there would be no government budget to implement the plans for the time being,” women’s right activist Sazan Mahmud told Rudaw.
The two-day forum was attended by more than 100 activists from civil society organizations, international and local NGOs, law experts, representatives of various religious communities and foreign as well as national researchers.
In a panel titled “The Role of Women in Building Peace in Iraq: Challenges and a Way Forward,” speakers shared their ideas on the role of civil society, the United Nations and religious organizations to strengthen Iraqi and Kurdish women to participate in decision making, combating ISIS and peace-building.
Panelist Pakhshan Kakawais, the head of the Erbil sub-office at UN Women, warned that despite all the efforts by the UN and international organizations to support female victims of terrorism, governments needed to take action for plans to reach the implementation stage. She called government “the first major partner of the UN.”
“The UN and NGOs’ plans to empower women will not succeed if government fails to take serious steps to implement the plans,” Kakawais said. She also explained the goals the UN is following to help female victims of war, including relief and recovery as well as prevention.
“Prevention is even much more important for us, because what we need to do is to avoid the disaster before it comes to us. This can be done through strengthening women’s capabilities and raising their awareness,” she added.
Speaker Boriana Jonsson, the executive director of Euromed Feminist Initiative, praised the role of national NGOs and civil society to address and resolve women’s problems. “International and national NGOs are the strongest tool to address women violence,” Jansson explained during the final panel of the conference.
Part of the discussion covered the issue of financial support for women and government funds for NGOs working on female development cases. Some of the attendees, however, cast doubt on the governments’ abilities.
“The conference was useful to address the women’s current issues, but with this situation, it seems there would be no government budget to implement the plans for the time being,” women’s right activist Sazan Mahmud told Rudaw.