On the 25th of October special session of the United Nations Security Council was held. This session was dedicated to “Wommen, Peace, and security”. On behalf of Iraq, Dr Abbas Kazem Obeid participated in the session. He is the permanent representative of Iraq to the United Nations Organisation.
The Iraqi representative, during his address, stated that women in Iraq had played an important role in bringing peace to the country. He emphasised that women have fought against terrorism along with men to protect the peace and stability of the country.
He also highlighted that Iraq has already approved the National strategy of Iraqi women for the period of 2023 to 2030. He stressed that this strategy of the Iraqi government is aimed at boosting women’s empowerment and promoting their Participation in different positions in the public sector.
Dr Abbas Kazem specifically mentioned that Iraq is the first country in the Middle East and North America that had prepared a national plan for the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325.
Moreover, the government of Iraq also adopted the second plan in the year of 2020. This second plan of 2020 was based on the objective of women’s empowerment with its reliance on three pillars, namely Participation, protection and prevention.
It is worth mentioning that Iraqi woman enjoyed more freedom than their counterpart in other parts of the Middle Eastern countries. The provisional constitution of Iraq, which was drafted in the 1970s, gave equal rights to women. Some laws were also enacted to provide voting rights to women.
It is to be specifically mentioned that until the last decade of the 21st century, women played a very leading and active role in the political and economic development of the country. A strong civil society also existed before the “coup d’etat” in 1968. But after capturing power, the Ba’ath party abolished many civil society organisations.
Dr Abbas Kezim also extended the solidarity of Iraq for the women of Palestine who are facing the tough situation. He called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to end the atrocities against the common unarmed people of Gaza.