2007 News
US and Kurdish Women's Rights NGOs Launch Gender Equality Legal Training
Kurdistan Regional Government
2 December 2007
Global Justice Center, a New York-based legal NGO, has launched a legal training course in Erbil in cooperation with Kurdish Women's Rights Watch. The course will inform participants how to enhance the rights of women through the alignment of local laws with international standards.
The promotion of women's rights is a key objective of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), headed by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani. Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, spoke at the opening ceremony on behalf of the Prime Minister.
Mr Bakir said, "The KRG is experiencing a transitional period. We are taking steps to emerge from an era of oppression and enter an era of freedom and democracy. Now is the right time to carry out social development in a scientific and modern way."
Addressing the judges attending the workshop, Minister Bakir said, "People will only feel equality and justice when our judicial system and the courts support the rights of all individuals - especially women - legally, equally and professionally on all issues they face, inside or outside the family."
Janet Benshoof, President of Global Justice Center, said, "Kurdistan can be an example to the entire Middle East if it can redefine democracy as meaning equality rather than being based on equality. She praised the KRG's decision to strike from the books the Saddam-era honour killing law, and cited this as evidence of the progress being made in the region.
This initiative will involve judges, MPs, women's rights activists and the media, and comes at a crucial juncture in the development of women's rights in the Kurdistan Region.
Global Justice Center is a non-profit NGO which works with women leaders on the strategic and timely legal enforcement of international equality guarantees. It is funded by private donors and foundations. Kurdish Women's Rights Watch is a Kurdistani NGO dedicated to supporting and promoting women's rights in the Kurdish community, whether in Kurdistan or in the diaspora.
To read a copy of the opening speech given by Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, please see Head of Foreign Relations: KRG Supports Women's Equal Participation in All Fields
For the official press release by the Kurdistan Regional Government, please click here