MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 2003

Women Develop Next Steps for Full Participation in the New Iraq

Conference topics include constitutional and economic rights, leadership, security

Amman, Jordan (December 10, 2003)— Iraqi women political and civilian leaders will convene in Amman, Jordan, to develop concrete steps to guarantee women’s roles in that country’s political and economic rebirth. Women Waging Peace and Women for Women International are sponsoring the conference.

Participants will draw on the experience of women in other countries. Rwanda, a post conflict society, has come closest to achieving parity between men and women in government: women now make up 49 percent of its Parliament, the highest percentage in the world. Lesser-known models include Argentina, with a 30 percent quota for women candidates in national elections; India, with one-third of seats in local municipal bodies reserved for women; and Uganda, which has one seat reserved for women in each of its parliamentary districts. Women constitute nearly 40 percent of Parliaments in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, an international success story.

What: “Guaranteeing Women a Role in Iraq: Translating Experiences from Abroad”

Who: The two dozen participants include Raja Habib Khuzai, member of the Iraqi Governing Council; Songul Chapouk, member of the Iraqi Governing Council; four members of the Baghdad City Advisory Council; Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Chair, Hunt Alternatives Fund and Women Waging Peace; Zainab Salbi, President and Founder, Women for Women International; Dr. Vjosa Dobruna, Waging member and Former Minister, United Nations Mission in Kosovo; Monica McWilliams, Waging member and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

When: Sunday, December 14, 2003, 14:30 – 17:30 PM (2:30 PM – 5:30 EST)

Where: Intercontinental Hotel, Queen Zein Street, Amman, Jordan

Background

Conference participants will identify key priorities to integrate women fully into all aspects of reconstruction; create a network of women leaders to collaborate with the interim Governing Council and the Coalition Provisional Authority; and initiate a plan to mobilize grassroots advocacy on women’s inclusion. Leaders from Northern Ireland, Kosovo, and Guatemala will also share their post-conflict experiences and brainstorm strategies for Iraq.

“Our intent is to push the agenda for women’s integration in Iraq,” says Woman Waging Peace founder Swanee Hunt. “Women comprise 55 – 65 percent of Iraq’s population, but are not sufficiently included in the country’s leadership. We want to raise the voices of these women, and allow their new ideas and opinions to be heard.”

Women for Women International President Zainab Salbi says there’s no possibility of a democratic Iraq without women’s involvement. “Iraqi women are full citizens and have a voice in building a future for their county,” says Salbi. Our hope is that this conference will provide a forum for Iraqi women to discuss how women will participate and lead the political, economic or social reconstruction of the country.”

The seminars on the role of Iraqi women in reconstruction conclude a related conference sponsored by the World Bank, on women’s economic rights; and by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), on international treaties supporting women’s empowerment.

Women Waging Peace, a network of women peace builders from conflict areas around the world, advocates for the full participation of women in peace negotiations and all phases of reconstruction. The Waging network includes women from conflict areas ranging from Iraq to Sri Lanka, Colombia to Sudan, the Middle East to South Korea. Waging was launched in 1999 to connect these women with each other and with policy shapers. For more information, visit www.WomenWagingPeace.net

Women for Women International was founded in 1993 to provide women survivors of war, civil strife, and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty into stability and self-sufficiency. Women for Women International, working in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Kosovo, Nigeria, and Rwanda, established its Iraq program in July 2003. The organization offers right-awareness and leadership education, vocational skills training, small business development, microfinance and other tools for women survivors of war. For more information, visit www.womenforwomen.org.

The National Endowment for Democracy is funding the conference, under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania.