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Inaugural Meeting Held By Hawr Rajab Women’s Committee
February 13, 2008
In the United States, it’s very common to see women involved in all facets of decision making, from decisions being made in their homes, to decisions made in their workplace. Women hold many leadership positions in industry, education and in the government. Things have not been that way in Iraq. It was traditionally the woman’s place to stay in the home and raise the children and care for the household. Women didn’t have a say in the political process, because that was traditionally seen as a ‘man’s job.’ Slowly that is changing. Women are entering the workforce in Iraq, in record numbers, women, for the first time are taking an active role in their communities and becoming involved in the political process. I’m sure it’s extremely empowering to these women, to finally be able to have a voice in their communities and not be punished if they stand up and speak their mind, as in the past.
The first meeting of the Hawr Rajab’s Women’s Committee was held on February 7th, beginning with a press conference at the Hawr Rajab boy’s school. They met to discuss topics that are vital to the welfare of their community. The group is newly formed and the members of the group are passionate about their cause.
The crowd in attendance listened attentively as the 8 speakers, all women talked about their cause. The crowd consisted of more than 200 women, young girls, collegues, government leaders, community and Coalition leaders. They knew however that they group they were addressing was a much larger one, what some might even consider the backbone of their community itself. They addressed issues such as creating job opportunities and training, safety and security.
“This message is for the entire world. We need to show them that we have rules. We need to help side-by-side with the men to help our city be safe. This can’t be done with one hand, all of us need to help,” said Manar Fahdil Salman, an attorney who grew up in Hawr Rajab.
Salman and the other leaders of the women’s group shared their appreciation for the increased security in their community and addressed steps that could be taken to ensure continued security. They also addressed the need to focusing on the future of their community.
“Women in this area are looking for training. They are looking for special skills and training to help them provide for their communities,” she said.
Like their American counterparts, the women realize that they too must take an active role in their community, through the job force, as well as becoming involved in their community as a whole. Two years ago, when al-Qaeda moved into the area, many of the men, the primary breadwinners, were killed. Because of that, many of the families were left without their traditional head of household figure. This forced the widows to rely on extended family members to provide for the basic needs of their family. Because of the cooperation between Coalition forces, Sons of Iraq, the Iraqi Security Forces and the Iraqi government officials, slowly security has returned to Hawr Rajab. Rashid District Chairman Yaqoub Yousif Bakhaty showed his support for the Women’s Committee and said that he felt it was a good idea, which would encourage women to begin participating in the political process.
Initiatives such as this are beginning to appear all across Iraq. In Hawr Rajab, the process occurred because of the initiative of local women. This allowed the local organization to get off to a good start and take root. Coalition members, like newly-appointed women’s affairs representative 2nd LT Cynthia Peters, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th BCT, 3rd Infantry Division, said it was an educational experience for her. She said that she was able to gain a better understanding of the unique issues that the women of Hawr Rajab faced, by attending the meeting.
As the newly formed Hawr Rajab Women’s Coalition continues to gain support and members, they will continue to gain a voice in the political process of their community. It’s great to see the women of Hawr Rajab, who for years were suppressed, begin standing up and advocating for themselves and taking ownership for their lives and for things occurring in their community.
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[...] A Soldier’s Mind wrote an interesting post today on Inaugural Meeting Held By Hawr Rajab Women’s CommitteeHere’s a quick excerpt In the United States, it’s very common to see women involved in all facets of decision making, from decisions being made in their homes, to decisions made in their workplace. Women hold many leadership positions in industry, education and in the government. Things have not been that way in Iraq. It was traditionally the woman’s place to stay in the home and raise the children and care for the household. Women didn’t have a say in the political process, because that was traditionally seen as a ‘ [...]
[...] A Soldier’s Mind wrote an interesting post today on Inaugural Meeting Held By Hawr Rajab Women’s CommitteeHere’s a quick excerpt In the United States, it’s very common to see women involved in all facets of decision making, from decisions being made in their homes, to decisions made in their workplace. Women hold many leadership positions in industry, education and in the government. Things have not been that way in Iraq. It was traditionally the woman’s place to stay in the home and raise the children and care for the household. Women didn’t have a say in the political process, because that was traditionally seen as a ‘ [...]
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Terri this is one of the best testimonies coming out of Iraq. Look at the smiles on these women’s faces. And the Iraqi women are secure and at ease. They do not have that frightened look on their faces they use to have when they would be killed for talking to a man. Yes indeed - great changes are happening in Iraq. This story tells the good and these women’s faces speak louder than the words.
Excellent indeed!