Women walk past citadel, Erbil, Iraq, 2011. Flickr/Adam Jones. Some rights reserved.Oil, independence, the radical Islamist threat, internal political strife, and economic challenges are the themes that dominate discussions about the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan). Women as a topic of discussion rarely come up, despite the existence of vibrant local activism around women’s rights and international acknowledgement that the inclusion of women in post-conflict reconstruction can lead to more durable, peaceful and inclusive societies.
Iraqi Kurdistan is an autonomous region of Iraq. The region gained de facto autonomy in 1991 after the US intervention under George Bush Sr. and the creation of a ‘safe haven’ to protect the Kurds from attacks by Saddam Hussein’s regime in Baghdad. Iraqi Kurdistan’s autonomous status was later officially recognised after George W. Bush’s intervention in 2003. This created a powerful decentralised local government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which since its formation has consistently expressed its desire to comply with international standards in the rule of law and governance. Enhancing women’s status has been one of the key aspects of this goal.
