Rafidayn Women’s Coalition Association

The Rafidayn Women’s Coalition association (RWC) is an independent civil organization led by a five-woman activist-feminist board of directors involved in the day-to-day work; two staff members; and many volunteers (including men) active in peaceful initiatives. The RWC board and volunteers represent all religions and ethnicities, and our projects serve and include all without discrimination. Since 2004 we have worked to empower and activate Iraqi women in different aspects of life, including political participation and elections. The association’s work is supported by a Coalition’s Friend Forum of two hundred member organizations from many of Iraq’s governorates. The association is an effective and leading member of the Iraqi women’s movement and the Iraqi Women Network.

The mission of the RWC is to achieve a society free of discrimination against women and to promote legislation that serves the human rights of Iraqi women. We focus on monitoring the realities of Iraqi women’s lives and participate in writing reports for the international community, such as a shadow report for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which was discussed in Geneva in February 2014. We also participated in Panel Discussion No. 57 and the monitoring report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (increased representation of women in all decision-making bodies), which will be submitted to the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders in October 2014.

Current RWC projects include writing, with the Iraqi Women Network, a Report on Women, Peace, and Security in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 1820 (violence targeted against women and girls in conflict) and 1325. The association is also currently engaged in lobbying for specific initiatives for peace and peaceful coexistence in Iraq, such as the Civil Initiative for National (Ahli) Peace, which includes 105 Iraqi organizations committed to promoting women’s participation in restoring peace and security, encouraging national reconciliation, and correcting the direction of the political process.

Our main challenge is the dangerous security situation. Iraq is going through a critical period marked by the escalation of armed conflict by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which has negatively impacted women’s lives. There are no women on the peace and national reconciliation negotiation committees. The presence of women would promote national peace, since women are the most affected by armed conflict and its consequences. The deterioration of the security situation has increased the number of internally displaced and refugee women, widows, and women without a breadwinner. A new phenomenon has emerged in which women are abducted by armed groups, taken to hidden locations, and sexually exploited. Many are even used as human shields. War has obstructed the arrival of urgent relief aid and increased the likelihood that already vulnerable groups will face disaster and famine and will leave school, as the displaced Yazidis on Mount Sinjar have done. War has disrupted government commitments to implement antiviolence, women’s rights, and development strategies. There is no budget, and the state is not interested in following through on its commitments to CEDAW committee recommendations. Civil organizations continue their role as observers of these violations. However, we face problems in obtaining information that allows us to document and monitor, and we have limited physical access to conflict areas. Moreover, international organizations have shut down most of their projects, pulled out a number of their representatives, and limited their work to relief, with no commitment to long-term development or rehabilitation.

Our second challenge is the formation of an Iraqi government. Iraq is gravitating toward creating a government ruled by political deals and sectarian quotas. In contrast to the promises the Iraqi state made to the international community, women are absent from the negotiations to form a government. The feminist movement has presented a memorandum to the president insisting on women’s involvement in parliament, government, and the presidency. Nevertheless, we have no information on the number of women who will be included in the new government or the type of ministerial portfolios that will be given to women, which affects our ability to support women...