Regional Coordinator Manal Omar’s Journal
March 2004

With all of these experiences and the rollercoaster of emotions that have taken place in the last several months, nothing epitomizes it like the incidents that began this week. Within 48 hours, we were taken from ultimate bliss and accomplishment to complete terror and loss.

In celebration of March 8th, International Women's Day, our first of nine women's centers was opened. The string of events left everyone feeling on a complete high, and we were beginning to see the tangible fruits from our hard work. The day started off with Ambassador Bremmer coming to meet with the women who are part of our core program for breakfast. He sat in our traditional Arab style training room, and talked with our women about their expectations for the future. The day continued with further success after success. During the day, the Iraqi Transitional Administrative law was signed. Part of the law supports a goal of including 25% representation of women in the government, a goal that women in Iraq worked hard to gain. We hoped that the coincidence of this historic document signing falling on International Women's Day would not go unnoticed, and would symbolize the role women would have in the future of Iraq. We all felt at the top of the world.

Regional Coordinator Manal Omar’s Journal
December 2003

Well, I am not sure what to say. For the past few weeks the whisper in the back of my mind kept getting louder - what are you doing in Iraq? Why are you risking your life? Are you really making a difference? Today, the whisper was once more silenced.

I had the honor of being among Iraqi women - who I now see as my sisters - when they first heard of Saddam's capture. Thirty women leaders from Iraq were gathered at our conference, and almost all broke into tears and sobs after hearing that the man who had managed to reach into each individual's personal life - and rip it apart by killing their husbands, sons and fathers and raping and maiming their women - was brought to justice. Moreover, the man who brought one of the Arab world's greatest countries to its knees through a dictatorship of fear now found himself at the bottom.

Regional Coordinator Manal Omar’s Journal
October 2003

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I accepted the position to set up Women for Women International's local office in Baghdad was believing that I was prepared to face the destruction in post-conflict Iraq. With my experience working in Iraq in 1997 and 1998 with the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and my experience working in other post-conflict areas, I was confident that I had a basic understanding that would provide me with an advantage over other aid workers just entering the country. It took a matter of seconds once I drove into Baghdad to realize I was grossly mistaken.

The capital I entered still had some resemblance to the city I had fallen in love with five years ago. There had truly been a magical connection established during my previous time in Baghdad, but I realized that there was so much more depth to the city and its people than I had previously recognized. The city still stood in its grandeur despite the destruction; a sense of cultural, historical, and artistic pride was still oozing out of every street corner. I have often described Baghdad as a woman who had been widowed on her wedding night; the beauty of the bride undeniable yet the pain of her suffering and losses would cause even the hardest of hearts to reach out in sympathy. The mysterious and contradictory attractiveness of Baghdad was still present, but there was something new that lurked in the shadows. Instantly I knew it was something more profound than the tanks and hummers roaring down the street. I had the eerie feeling that the true character of Baghdad that had been buried for over thirty-five years was finally finding its way to the surface. Little did I know that along with the revelation of the capital's character would come unspeakable stories and tales that would reveal the country's true heroines.