The project included several ministerial training sessions. More specifically, training sessions were organised for the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior, the Iraqi police and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. We also implemented workshops for the implementation of the Iraqi National Action Plan (INAP) with 1325 Alliance members.
Ministry of Defense:
The involvement of high ranking officers from both the ministry and the Army’s chief of staff led to the creation of a Women Empowerment Unit within the Army which is closely linked to the Women Empowerment Unit within the ministry. Furthermore a budget line was added to the Ministerial Action Plan. The training sessions opened up discussions regarding the establishment of a Women Military institute similar to the Ministry of Interior.
Ministry of Interior:
After the two training sessions we organised for this ministry, participants are now more involved in the implementation process of INAP 2. The UNSCR 1325 team within the ministry is taking into consideration issues raised by members of different departments and including them in the implementation process. Following the second training the Women Empowerment Unit decided on adding gender sensitive investigation methods to their agenda of INAP implementation.
Ministry of Justice:
The Ministry of Justice has turned the Women Empowerment Unit into a division directly linked to the minister’s office. The creation of the roadmap in our training is being used as a basis for a ministerial action plan. The Women Empowerment Unit encompassing all the departments of the ministry has been established and is being led by a number of our participants.
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA):
The MoLSA’s work on UNSCR 1325 had been centralised and limited to a single team of managers and high ranking officials. However, following our training, MoLSA has adopted a more inclusive approach involving members of the various departments in the implementation process. Prior to our training, staff members of departments not related to the Human Rights Directorate lacked knowledge on UNSCR 1325 nor INAP 2. Now, the ministry is adopting a broad training policy for the members of its staff to expedite the implementation process.
Joint Ministerial Trainings:
Participants of the workshops are now more aware of the need for joint work if implementation of INAP 2 is to be successful. They are also capable of creating a joint action roadmap and have been trained on the skills to implement it. The second training showed a clear lack of policies to support joint work between the three involved ministries. The participants learned about how to use critical analysis to determine which policies positively or negatively impact this work.
Social Cohesion Between Iraqi Communities: A Dialogue with Women and Tribal & Religious Leaders
Religious, tribal, and women leaders can play a role in promoting societal peace in Iraq. In spring and summer of 2021, we organised the two-part training course “Social Cohesion between Iraqi Communities – A Dialogue with Tribal and Religious Leaders” in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. Read more about it here.
Creative Writing Training of Trainers (ToT) – ‘Women write for Peace’
During the online creative writing ToT training participants enhanced their knowledge and skills on conducting training sessions on creative writing online. A group of 6 young women participated in a technical training session and content training sessions. Thanks to this training, several women started to have their own writing clubs and started to conduct online and offline training on creative writing /women and peacebuilding. The training also led to the establishment of cross border communication networks on creative writing/ writing on women and peacebuilding between women from Iraq and women and other MENA countries.
Regional networking meetings
The two regional networking meetings aimed at strengthening the network of women alumni of the project at a national and regional level. Participants came from Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Sudan and Egypt. It provided a space for the exchange of experiences and best practices in the field of women’s participation in peacebuilding and discussion of environmental issues facing the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). A climate justice group, focusing on climate issues in the region, was created as a result of these meetings. It has been active since 2021, even participating in the COP. Its aim is to raise awareness and challenges that the region is facing. We hope that the network created during the project will continue to bloom.
TOT on Peace Initiatives
The ‘Building Peace Initiatives ToT Programme’ aimed at equipping 20 Iraqi women with basic knowledge and skills to become trainers and multiply knowledge on how to build and run local peace initiatives in Iraq. The ToT started with an online training covering topics such as equality between men and women, INAP and UNSCR 1325, Conflict Management, Transitional Justice, Peace Initiatives, Media, Project Management, and Budgeting. Afterwards, an extra offline training took place in Erbil 2022. At the end of the ToT, the WTP team selected three women to conduct their peace initiatives: Heleen Abdulwaheed in Basra, focusing on a roundtable discussion with political activists; Ban Najeeb in Mosul, addressing women’s participation in society and politics through discussions with peace committee and women’s empowerment committee members from Ninewa; and Manar Abdulameer in Diwaniya, organizing a workshop for media professionals on UNSCR 1325.
Digital Platform:
The digital platform ‘Women Talking Peace’ was released in December 2021 during the Regional Network Meeting in Erbil in December 2021. It aims to inform and foster exchange between interested Iraqis and practitioners in the field of peacebuilding and women empowerment in Iraq and the MENA region as a whole. The website offers videos and research materials related toΖ peacebuilding and women empowerment in Iraq, a map showcasing organisations in Iraq active in the field of women empowerment and peacebuilding as well as a blog and the INAP 1+2 including a commenting function. The page is available in Arabic and English.
