Committee on Protection of Women's Rights holds Women's Support Network meeting
Kurdistan Parliament’s Committee on Protection of Women’s Rights on 25 February held a meeting with NGOs, the UNFPA, consuls and KRG officials on amending the domestic violence law and other areas of cooperation.
The meeting was the fourth gathering of the Women’s Support Network.
The participants focused on the need to amend Law No. 8 of 2011 on Combating Domestic Violence in Kurdistan Region. They discussed several cases of protection for women and family violence, as well as the need to protect children in these situations.
They also discussed the influence of religious figures on society’s views on women’s rights, and the need to coordinate with the Endowments and Religious Affairs Ministry on women’s rights issues.
More support and reparations for Yazidi women and children who were the victims of ISIS was also on the agenda.
The Yazidi children held by ISIS and used as child soldiers, and children born while Yazidi women were in ISIS captivity, were discussed. Some said that the Yazidi community should take the lead in deciding how these problems should be solved.
Another topic was ensuring that both academic staff and students in higher education gain awareness of the need to end gender-based violence and to achieve gender equality.
SEED Foundation discussed their awareness-raising campaigns against abuse and blackmail of young women through social media and mobile phones.
Parliament Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami said that Parliament’s presidency is fully behind legislative initiatives to strengthen women’s rights and protection, and to give equal opportunities to women in decision-making roles.
He pointed to the high percentage of women MPs and the fact that two members of Parliament’s three-person presidency are women, as being good examples to follow.
“One of Parliament’s internal regulations is that at least one member of the three-person presidency must be a women”, Mr. Hawrami added.
Mr. Hawrami said, “We are glad to see that there are a lot of discussions by many organisations in Kurdistan on protecting women’s rights.”
Ms. Lanja Dizayee (KDP), chair of the committee, said “In late 2019, MPs voted to separate women’s issues from other subjects and created a standalone Committee on Protection of Women’s Rights, to give it the focus that it deserves”.
Participants included: MPs from the Legislative Committee, the Kurdistan Region High Council of Women's Affairs, SEED Foundation, UNFPA, the Office of Kidnap Rescue, and officials from the consulates of France, Germany, Canada and the UK.