KURDISTAN: President Barzani: Women's Rights Must be Respected

In a meeting on Sunday with more than 20 representatives of women's organisations in the Kurdistan Region, President Masoud Barzani reiterated his strong support for women's rights.

In their meeting with the President, activists and representatives of local NGOs talked about a number of challenges facing women in Kurdistan, such as discrimination in employment – particularly in the public sector - lack of equal opportunities and domestic violence. They asked the President to urge government institutions to do more to respect the rights of women.

President Barzani said, “No one in Kurdistan has the right to violate the rights of women. We have laws to prevent or punish violations, and any disputes between citizens must be resolved according to the law, and with justice and equity.” He added that one of the fundamental objectives of the Kurdish struggle has been to secure women's rights.

Expressing his great admiration for the role of women in Kurdistan's society, particularly during the Kurdish struggle in the 1960s and 1970s, President Barzani reiterated his strong support for their rights. He said that there are quotas in place in Kurdistan to ensure female participation in political life.

The Kurdistan Parliament ensures by law that at least 30% of MPs are women, and some of Kurdistan's political parties have women's quotas for their internal elections, and a high ratio of university students are women. Strong measures have been taken to prevent and punish honour crimes and domestic violence. The Interior Ministry has created a directorate that investigates honour crimes, and the Kurdistan Parliament some years ago changed the Ba'ath-era law so that killings in the name of honour are treated as murder. The Kurdistan Region recently hosted an international conference on the role of women in peace building and reconciliation.