Shafaq News- Geneva

Women’s representation across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has expanded steadily in politics, the judiciary, and the economy, Dindar Zebari, the UN Kurdish representative, said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the 92nd session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in Geneva, Zebari said implementation of international recommendations under the 2021–2025 Human Rights Action Plan reached 62.3% during 2024–2025 with a compliance rates of 87.5% by the executive branch, 78.9% by the judiciary, and 40.5% by the legislature, while recommendations specific to women’s rights stood at 35%.

He also pointed to gains in senior representation, including a woman serving as parliamentary speaker, three women holding ministerial portfolios, and a woman governor, alongside an expanding role for women in the courts.

According to Zebari, women make up 26.2% of judges in the Kurdistan Region (69 of 263), 27.8% of public prosecutors, and 67% of assistant judicial staff.

He said the 30% quota has strengthened political participation, with 147 women elected to parliament across successive terms, 65 of whom chaired permanent committees. He also cited the creation of a parliamentary mechanism to protect female candidates from online defamation.

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On economic participation, Zebari said the KRG has provided social insurance to 41,953 local female workers and 5,239 foreign female workers, while women’s membership in chambers of commerce rose to 239 between 2022 and 2025.

1,198 women in rural areas received agricultural loans exceeding 9.5 billion Iraqi dinars (about $7 million), and 3,873 jobs were created for women.

The women’s hotline 119 handled 12,274 complaints in 2024, resolving 1,532 cases “amicably” and supporting the allocation of 9,000 housing units for women without shelter.

Zebari also said the Kurdistan Region operates five shelters for women subjected to violence, serving more than 900 women annually, and rehabilitated 5,530 women between 2019 and 2025.

Addressing the Yazidi file, he noted 3,593 survivors, including 1,212 women and 1,078 girls, with more than 1,080 survivors transferred for medical treatment, and continued financial support was provided to over 3,500 survivors.