The Speaker of the Parliament of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Rewaz Faiq, said that women in politics carry a "heavy burden” as they have to fight for democracy, consolidate human rights, and raise awareness for their rights.
During an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Faiq admitted that it is not easy being in politics, “even if you are the Speaker.”
She categorized politicians in Kurdistan as those who don’t believe in women's rights, and those who believe but don’t dare talk about them due to the dominance of the first group.
“Ensuring women's rights and protecting them requires a change in the prevailing social concepts and culture, and I don't see any hope for this soon. It requires a lot of work and struggle.”
Faiq admitted that Kurdish women are in a better situation compared to other women in Iraq and most neighboring countries. However, despite all the achievements in legislating and amending laws on rights, women still suffer from the same economic, political, and social issues as most Middle Eastern women.
“If we were to compare the situation of women in Kurdistan today with their situation at the beginning of the uprising in 1991; We can see that they are better in terms of awareness and knowledge of their rights, thanks to the ongoing struggles of Kurdish women.”
Asked about her strategy for the parliament’s work on women's rights, Faiq indicated that her appointment coincided with a set of problems that the region went through including political and economic-health crisis caused by the coronavirus, which the parliament is aiming to solve.
Kurdistan’s action strategy in ensuring women's rights includes the monitoring of the work of the region's institutions through the parliamentary committee for defending women's rights, in addition to the efforts of the lawmakers in amending laws.
The parliament has passed a law against domestic violence and amended the Personal Status Law and the Penal Code.
However, she emphasized that a set of modern concepts and standards for evaluating women's rights and freedom, such as harassment and gender equality, require enacting new laws and amending others.
In a letter to the Supreme Council of Women and a number of feminist organizations, the Speaker asked officials to submit their proposals on new laws or on amendments.
She admitted that “honor killing," as part of the domestic violence that exists in the Kurdish society, is a flawed practice that requires awareness to change.
Faiq explained that Kurdistan does not have a law for the so-called “honor killings,” indicating that Article (409) of the Penal Code has been amended and sentences for murder within that context are no longer reduced.
However, in reality, the situation is different as cases of honor killing are dealt with outside the scope of the law, and though the amendment is an achievement, it did not reduce the number of murder cases.
“Solving this problem requires a societal and political will.”
