U.S. Commitment to Women in Iraq

The United States strongly supports Iraqi women’s participation in the political, economic, and social reconstruction of their country. Above and beyond the approximately $21 billion for fiscal year 2003 and 2004 U.S. investment in Iraq’s overall reconstruction, which benefits all Iraqis, the United States is allocating nearly half a billion dollars to support democracy-building programs in Iraq -- including projects that specifically help women with democratic organization and advocacy. U.S. Government-sponsored programs are helping Iraqi women develop in diverse areas from literacy, computer, and vocational training to human rights education. Women's self-help and vocational centers are springing up across Iraq, from Karbala to Kirkuk, and micro-credit facilities and workshops are helping aspiring Iraqi businesswomen. Additional funds are improving women’s access to quality health care, including maternal and child health.

On March 8, 2004, Secretary of State Colin Powell announced two new initiatives: the U.S.-Iraq Women’s Network (USIWN) and a $10-million Iraqi Women’s Democracy Initiative. The USIWN is a public-private partnership to forge links between U.S. and Iraqi women’s organizations and to match private sector resources with critical needs on the ground. The Democracy Initiative will benefit women in several key areas: education for democracy, leadership training, political training, teaching entrepreneurship, NGO coalition-building, organizational management and coordination, and media training. The first of approximately 10 grants under this program are now being awarded, after an open competition for the best proposals from all interested organizations.

Political Participation and Civil Society

The Transitional Administrative Law (TAL): The TAL sets out the basic rights of all the people of Iraq and represents a historic step forward toward a democratic Iraq. Among other rights, the TAL guarantees that:

All Iraqis are equal in their rights without regard to gender, sect, opinion, belief, nationality, religion, or origin, and they are equal before the law. Discrimination against an Iraqi citizen on the basis of his gender, nationality, religion, or origin is prohibited. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the security of his person. No one may be deprived of his life or liberty, except in accordance with legal procedures. All are equal before the courts.

National Conference and Interim National Council: The Annex to the TAL calls for a National Conference of at least 1,000 people to engage in a genuine national dialogue on the country’s challenges and select the Interim National Council - the final portion of the interim governing institutions. The National Conference, which convened in late August 2004, brought together Iraqis representing every province in the country, political parties, tribal leaders, trade and professional unions, and universities and religious leaders among many others. One-fourth of the delegates were women, as are 25 of the 100 members elected to the Interim National Council.

Women in Government: The Iraqi cabinet, announced in May 2004, includes six women ministers (out of a total of 33 individuals), in the following Ministries: Agriculture, Displacement and Migration, Environment, Labor and Social Affairs, Public Works, and Women's Affairs. In April 2004, seven women were appointed to hold deputy minister positions. Women occupy six of the 37 seats on the Baghdad City Council, 81 serve on neighborhood and district councils around the capital, and many women have also been elected to district, local, and municipal councils in most other regions of Iraq.

Women Trained as Army Officers: Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of coalition operations for Multinational Force Iraq (MNF-I), reported that 11 women Iraqi Army officers graduated in late June from the Jordanian military academy under MNF-I's training program for the Iraqi armed forces. The training included courses for company and platoon leaders, brigade and battalion staff officers, and brigade and battalion commanders.

Political Workshops for Women: The United States is committed to the equal participation of women in shaping the new political landscape of Iraq, including participation in the upcoming elections. To prepare the ground for this historic transition, the Department of State and its partners have sponsored or currently are sponsoring political workshops and related programs for Iraqi women, including:

• On July 18-19, 2004, USAID’s Civic Dialogue Program held 70 Democracy Dialogue Activities in Babil Governorate in South-Central Iraq, reaching 1,823 participants. These programs seek to improve public understanding of the transition to democracy and increase popular participation in it. In addition, two training programs for local government officials were started at the same time: a 10-day computer training program for 20 women and 20 men, and a 5-day course on "Decentralized Government Accounting Systems" for 12 women and 13 men from the Education Department.
• On July 17, 2004, the first symposium for women in municipal government was held in Babil Governorate. Twenty-six women participated, representing nearly all government offices. Discussions centered on strategies for encouraging women to participate in the upcoming elections.
• On July 8, 2004, a civic dialogue conference on women’s rights was held for 170 participants in Salah ad-Din Governorate in northern Iraq. This program resulted in concrete suggestions for enhancing women’s roles in Iraqi society through improved training and related facilities.
• On the international level, the U.S. supported an Iraqi delegation of women leaders to the Global Summit of Women in South Korea in May 2004 and an Iraqi delegation at the United Nations 48th Annual Commission on the Status of Women Conference held in March 2004.
• Inside Iraq, in the first few months after its liberation, the U.S. supported the Iraqi National Council for Women’s first constituent conference in January 2004, which set a national agenda for increasing women’s political participation. The U.S. also supported regional conventions of Iraqi women to advance their human rights, including October 2003 conferences attended by hundreds of women activists in Al-Hillah and in Sulaimaniya.

Women’s Centers: The United States Government is supporting the creation of nine Women’s Centers in Baghdad and 11 regional Women’s Centers throughout Iraq. Centers in Al-Kut, Diwaniyah, Karbala, Al-Hillah, Mosul, Najaf, and Sulaimaniya have been completed, and centers in Aqrah, Biara, Halabja, and Tawela will be completed shortly. The centers offer computer and literacy classes, job skills, education and training for financial independence, access to information regarding health care, and legal services. Selected centers will offer sanctuary from domestic violence to potentially tens of thousands of women. The centers will also help widowed, impoverished, and vulnerable women and their children. Each center will be open to all women, and run by women who are democratically elected. The following centers opened within the last 8 months:

• The Mansour Women's Opportunity Center in Baghdad opened in March 2004 and is providing business and vocational training to women and girls, particularly widows and victims of rape, torture, and trafficking. In addition, the center will provide micro-credit loans to help women start home-based businesses. Eight other centers will open soon in Baghdad.
• The Zainab al-Hawraa Center opened February 16, 2004, in Karbala. This center was established with the assistance of two grants from USAID partner Development Alternatives International (DAI) totaling $163,228.
• The Diwaniyah Women's Rights Center opened January 9, 2004. This is the second center in the South Central Region, which has a population of approximately 12 million.

Economic Opportunity
Management Training Seminar for Women Administrators: On July 15, 32 women members of the local government in Babil Governorate concluded a 12-day management training seminar. The women represented the departments of health, electricity, municipality, insurance, environment, agriculture, telecommunications, treasury, and irrigation. During the seminar, the women received instruction in transparency in public finance, contracting procedures, audit report and performance evaluation, databases and applications, leadership in the workplace, financial information management systems, and improving disclosure abilities. Training will enable the women to be more effective managers.

Job Skills: The recent rehabilitation of the Al-Khadhra’a Women’s facility will benefit 5,000 families. This women-run facility has 150 full-time sewing machine operators, mostly women, and 700 part-time operators. In March 2004, through a grant by USAID, the Al-Salam/Ardel Nakleh Association, an Iraqi NGO, developed a sewing training program in Sadr City. The grant is funding sewing tools, office equipment, and furniture.

Vocational Training for Women in Southern Iraq: As of July 2004, an NGO in southern Iraq is developing a vocational training program for women with the assistance of a $15,355 grant under USAID’s Iraq Transition Initiative. The grant will fund sewing machines, computers and software, furniture and other supplies. The organization intends to provide a supportive environment where women can come together, learn practical skills, develop friendships, and share information about their rights and roles in society.

Organizations and Associations: The United States has given $6.5 million to Iraqi women’s groups, NGOs, community service organizations, and professional associations that work on women’s issues. Significant additional funding, available through an open competition for the best proposals, has been set aside to help such groups form coalitions and better coordinate their activities.

Healthcare
Women’s Mobile Teams: USAID is working with Women’s Mobile Teams to increase rural women’s access to information to improve their health and security. The curriculum includes information about domestic violence, its causes and how to combat it, crisis intervention, landmine awareness, Islam and democracy, and family-care education.

Facilities: The United States has rehabilitated 72 health facilities and re-equipped 238 to improve the quality of health care.

Vaccinations and Nutrition: In the first year of Iraq’s liberation, more than 3 million children under the age of five have been vaccinated under the Expanded Immunization Program (EPI) since June 2003. EPI vaccines will eventually benefit 4.2 million children under the age of five. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the United States has administered the tetanus toxoid vaccine to more than 700,000 pregnant women; vaccinated more than 5 million school-aged children against measles, mumps, and rubella; and distributed high-protein biscuits to more than 240,000 children and pregnant and nursing mothers.

Training of Nurses and Midwives: A grant to the Iraqi Nursing Association will support the recruitment and training of hundreds of women nurses and the purchase of new uniforms, bed linens, and nurses’ kits. Currently, there are only 300 trained and licensed women nurses in Iraq.

Education
Schools: As of April 2004, the United States has renovated 2,358 schools. 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.

Teacher Training: As of May 2004 more than 33,000 secondary teachers and administrative staff, including more than 17,000 females, were trained in programs funded by USAID.

Higher Education: Five grants valued at more than $15 million were awarded to strengthen partnerships between American and Iraqi Universities. Student, scholar, and other exchange programs have also been revived. Of the 25 prestigious Iraqi Fulbright finalists this year, six are women.