A platform for dialogue, exchange of experiences, and reflection on the essential role of women in promoting unity, social cohesion, and sustainable peace

The role of women in promoting unity, social cohesion and sustainable peace.

Lecturer at a conference held by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Baghdad, October 15-16, 2025

Pascale Warda, Founding Member and Chairperson of the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization

Ambassador of Peace and International Advisor to the International Women's Group (IWPG) in South Korea

International Advisor to the Christian Solidarity International Foundation in Switzerland

Founding Member and Member of the Board of Directors of the Iraqi Women's Network

UNAMI Advisory Member of the Iraqi Women's Group

Former Minister of Migration and Displacement

I am pleased to thank the ladies and gentlemen of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq for this valuable workshop on "The Role of Women in Promoting Unity, Social Cohesion, and Sustainable Peace."

Indeed, raising this topic for reflection and developing a profound vision seems an urgent need, as it coincides with the deep-seated seriousness of the issue of hatred against women, a phenomenon that has escalated more than ever in the current reality. This old-new situation is faced by most Iraqi women in an atmosphere of panic, condemnation, and justified injustice due to the rejection of their achievements by patriarchs who practice fighting fair competition between women and men. The clearest evidence of this is that since the beginning of political change in Iraq in 2003, the Iraqi authorities, represented by the then-Interim Governing Council, issued Resolution 137 in an attempt to abolish Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959. However, thanks to the unity of the women's movement in Iraq, Resolution 137 was repealed as a result of the strong women's movement and nationwide demonstrations demanding that the International Coalition to Rescind the Resolution, not postpone it as some Iraqi groups claimed.

 This feminist achievement, as one of the first achievements of the young democracy, was witnessed by the first demonstrations, resulting in women achieving, for the first time, two of their demands: the abolition of Resolution 137, and the imposition of a quota of no less than 25% for women in the Legislative Council and other state institutions, in the interim constitution. This was despite the male-dominated evasion of the demands for the required 40-50 percent female participation rate, which was evident on the protesters' banners. However, since Iraqi males viewed this issue, i.e., women's demands and the aforementioned decision as an "arm-twisting" to which men were subjected—a fact deeply rooted in Iraq's male-dominated, negative culture of women—they only accepted a percentage of at least a quarter, undermining women's capabilities and abilities, as is the case in their ideas, which are influenced by a deeply embedded perception of depreciation.

After more than twenty years of the "democratic era" in Iraq, the same religious groups have circumvented the success women achieved in repealing Resolution 137 to reopen another chapter under the name of "amendment" to the Personal Status Law. This unjust act would have been more accurately termed "sabotage, not amendment." Most Iraqi women consider the recent amendment a blatant and systematic violation of their fundamental rights, previously protected by the aforementioned law. This includes the right to continue to have custody of their children, to exercise normal parenting, to oppose forced marriage of their daughters starting at the age of nine, and other gains protected by the Personal Status Law for the past 66 years. Now, Iraqi men are rolling back these achievements, aiming to push women back into the home. It is obvious that all this systematic injustice, for whatever justification, was expected to contribute significantly to the decline in the level of true social, cultural, and economic development in our Levantine society. Today, we increasingly observe entire societies being plunged into the darkness of backwardness and unnatural conditions. This is clearly happening now, and the victims are women—the center and pillar of building family and societal unity and harmony. Ultimately, this complicates the process of building sustainable peace. Yes, and clearly, unity begins with the first unit of society, the family.

 The women movement, led by the Iraqi Women's Network, is struggling to empower women to occupy the position they deserve in the family and society. To help resolve the complexities burdening Iraqi families, the feminist movement proposed an "Anti-Domestic Violence" law in 2010. It has languished in successive parliaments, which oppose any interest related to women, fearing that women will become the most powerful tool for exposing all forms of male violence and oppression, both hidden and codified in the name of tradition and religion. Legislators from sectarian blocs have bizarrely described the aforementioned Anti-Domestic Violence law as a legal instrument that does not serve the interests of the Iraqi family, its Eastern heritage, or its Islamic society, without taking into account the millions of Muslim women who reject this false belief and oppose the amendment. They have also argued that the text of the law is incomplete and lacks clear penalties, among other unnecessary arguments. This is not to mention the egregious marginalization of the presence and views of other sects and religions in Iraqi society. As if every time Iraq comes close to achieving a unified society and ensuring gender equality in rights and human dignity, as stipulated in Article 14 of the new constitution, there are those who are behind the introduction of obstacles to prevent the desired development and progress, thus avoiding the establishment of sustainable peace in Iraq!

How can patriarchs not view women as truly the center of the family, its foundation, its support, and its teacher from the first moment its members exist on this earth? No unity or social cohesion is possible, with the goal of building sustainable peace, without women's equal partnership with their counterparts, the other half, i.e., men. This is equality in dignity and rights specific to human existence and life. Women are the ones who possess and teach emotional and physical security, and they occupy the largest role in the individual's life struggle from the first moments of their existence and the existence of society. With them, the family moves toward development in daily life, and they are the ones who crystallize the individual's identity. As for the jealousy and selfishness of their counterparts, who reject fair competition as a healthy condition, this has not and will not erase the centrality of women's role, no matter how much pressure there is and how long the injustice lasts.

Perhaps a return to anthropology will help clarify this aspect. Isn't it in the woman's dedicated role of giving and continuous sacrifice that the secret lies? This is from the moment the child is conceived in her womb, where he builds his own development, deriving all the needs for his biological and psychological perfection from the sources of her body alone? Women continue to give freely until the last day of their lives. They are the ones who give freely to all members of their families, accompanying them in patience through pain, and play a role of construction, unification, education, and unlimited giving in love and tolerance, despite the disrespect and unfair judgments they are often subjected to. Nevertheless, their irreplaceable and irreplaceable role makes them more knowledgeable about the rules of building a just peace. Respecting this role by all, however, certainly only leads to strengthening the creation of a peaceful society, one that is blessed with a peaceful human feeling among people.

Where, then, has a person felt and feels better than in the world of mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters, in their roles of giving their full potential and happiness to their families? With all of the above, they represent the foundation of the family and society, from which we have all been able to derive the seeds of all virtues, whether through raising generations and shaping their identities, instilling moral and social values ​​in their minds, or through providing emotional and physical security, and developing social and cognitive skills in children and others. These gifts and qualities with which women adorn our lives exist and spring from the depths of their unique existence, which every human being must embrace, as they are the ideal way to humanize human nature and thus make these gifts and qualities the fundamental pillar of family stability and societal progress.

Yes, because everything we have mentioned fundamentally stems from the psyche, mind, and heart of mothers. Enough with reducing sweet phrases to fleeting verses of poetry that have been eaten away by time, and with the mere expression of false emotions on this subject. Rather, we must all draw attention to this great presence, without which we cannot communicate as human beings. Let us truly say to mothers and women in general: Truly, "A mother is a school. If you prepare her, you will prepare generations with good morals." She is truly more than just a school, and her secret is unfathomable. Therefore, marginalizing, abusing, and diminishing her great value is considered an overthrow not only of humanity, but of the Creator's plan, who revealed the secret of His freely giving mind to humanity through the greatest and most beautiful creation of God: woman! What is perfection in men without women?! From here, religious platforms have a major role to play, required to correct the inferior view of women, based on respect for the initiative of the Creator of man and woman, who saw before any human being that this form of life is best—men and women together in mutual respect.

The role of women in building peace and stability is not only important and desirable, but it is also pivotal, as they possess a mindset and a sense of self that rejects marginalization and racial discrimination against anyone who assumes responsibility for them. This is transmitted through her to society, not only through her upbringing and maternal feelings, but also through her presence and actual contributions as an active and aware element in the simplest details of daily life. She is characterized by a strong sense of responsibility, sometimes to the point of excess. This is a result that is described as an ideal practice by men who seldom acknowledge her unique abilities, which can be transformed into the ability to correct deviations. Here, I refer to deviations that have been planted and codified to produce a fragile and unpeaceful society, under the guise of principles, norms, and traditions.

It is no secret to all of us that, in a strange way, people are exploited in our countries with the phrase "We are Easterners," as if Easterners were destined to retreat?! From here, in particular, stems the zeal of female activists throughout human history to stand up against injustice and racial discrimination and to legalize the violation of the dignity and rights of women as human beings, who have full rights and dignity that must be preserved and not be disregarded, regardless of the excuses. It's no secret that this sense of responsibility that brought women to the streets for demonstrations and various forms of demands, especially since the last century, was not a male initiative or driven by them, as some might claim. Rather, it was, before anything else, a keen awareness of women themselves and their conducive qualities, despite the male resistance and resistance. The initiative of the ideas demanding equality and liberation itself was fought by many male groups and men of various affiliations, and even by some masculine women, and on an ongoing basis. In the United States, it was the likes of Susan Provel and others who looked at the injustice inflicted on society as a whole, especially women and black communities, who were victims of racist extremism. History has recorded the merit of women in abolishing those inhumane instructions and laws that reinforced racial discrimination, which men understood and woven as an important matter to achieve unity and peace among members of one society, without stopping at the issue of color and external appearance, which represents only something “accidental,” that is, as it was understood and described philosophically as “chance,” which is a characteristic or feature to solve a problem that is added to something, such as the black color of those of African origins, or the flat face of those of Asian origins, or the blue eyes of those of European origins, and other advantages that are not necessary and important as important as the essence of man, but rather they are accidental, While the essence of man is universal and has a single value across the world, man is therefore universal. These incidental manifestations, however, can be removed without fundamentally changing the nature of the thing or person. In this sense, insisting on remaining superficial, i.e., on the incidental aspect of the other, prevents the view from penetrating the essence of the concerned parties, with the aim of assuring that man has full rights and dignity, which cannot be violated as they are an inalienable value within man. Therefore, this value is considered one of the constants inherent in the nature of the human being, incapable of exploitation and disposition.

Nevertheless, all international reports, such as Amnesty International, the UN Women report, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, have confirmed that, according to global estimates, in 2023, the most common female homicides were committed by intimate partners/family members. The UN report stated that 85,000 women were intentionally killed worldwide, and 60 percent of these homicides—51,000—were committed by intimate partners or other family members. The Hammurabi Human Rights Organization's annual report, "The Conditions of Women in Iraq/Domestic Violence," indicates that violence against women continues to escalate, especially in the countries of the East, with Iraq at the forefront of Arab countries. In recent years, including 2024, the number of domestic violence cases in Iraq reached 14,000, with 73% of the victims being women. Globally, it seems that every minute, 10 women are killed! These are frightening numbers cited by the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization in its latest annual report, citing international sources and Arab channels. In the Kurdistan Region alone, 48 women were killed in 2024. This number is considered unofficial, but the reality is much higher. The distribution was as follows: 18 cases in Erbil Governorate, 13 in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, 6 in Dohuk Governorate, 3 in Kirkuk Governorate, 3 in Raparin Administration, 2 in Garmian Administration, 1 in Koya Subdistrict, 1 in Zakho Administration, and 1 in Khurmatu (based on reports from Amnesty International and other sources). However, in Iraqi Kurdistan, articles in the Iraqi Penal Code that facilitate the killing of women have been amended.

We have observed how easy it is to kill women and girls, divorce them, abuse them, and bully them for the most trivial matters. Ultimately, the criminals escape punishment, as the killing of women is regulated by the Penal Code, where the crime is sometimes covered up by the practice of honor killing, sometimes by disguising it as suicide, and other lies. Meanwhile, a father killed his 11-year-old daughter, Zainab, while she slept in her mother's arms because he felt ashamed of having a daughter! Another killed his wife because she refused to transfer the ownership of her plot of land to his name. Not to mention that psychological murder has become a daily occurrence, as children, both boys and girls, are torn from their mothers at the age of seven. When Iraqis demand amendments to a law, the amendments are often for the worse, not the better. This is in addition to the time it takes from people's lives, as if the law should be hostile to people's lives, not supporting them in reforming their behavior for the better by legally resolving crises. It's no secret that the spirit of normalizing violence within the Iraqi imagination is easily reinforced, especially by the simplification of resorting to issuing and implementing the death penalty, which has only served to worsen its effects. Indeed, it is considered the primary, permanent, and most powerful source of all forms of violence, making the idea of ​​taking human life through murder and the death penalty a normal occurrence!

As human rights defenders, one of our fundamental, recurring demands is the abolition of the death penalty from the Iraqi constitution. Because there are alternatives, even if we insist on practicing it, it could become a life sentence using new technological methods.

Yes, we are in the age of artificial intelligence, and our resources are not the problem in implementing new technologies. We can follow the example of the most advanced countries, not regress by fighting, and fall back to emulating the examples of countries that have not, and will not, match the land of civilizations and scientific discoveries for thousands of years. Changing penalties, especially life imprisonment and other penalties that have also been reformed in developed countries to be compatible with human dignity, involves resorting to modern technological methods that hold the punished accountable with the utmost technological precision, while preserving the inalienable dignity of the individual.

This new system, implemented in France, for example, but not exclusively, has multiple technological uses, such as the "electronic bracelet," which can be applied in various forms, such as in the case of house arrest under electronic surveillance (DDSE), in which the electronic bracelet is used to serve the prison sentence at home and alerts the prison administration in the event of non-compliance with the schedules set by the judge, or in the case of house arrest under electronic surveillance (ARSE). Although the bracelet is not exclusively intended for those sentenced to life imprisonment, it can be used to serve the prison sentence at home, subject to time limits. This humanizes the way authorities treat the offender's human dignity, in a more compassionate and civilized manner.

What are these technological means of our time?

- Home detention under electronic surveillance (DDSE): An electronic bracelet is used to serve a prison sentence at home and alerts the prison administration if the schedules set by the judge are not adhered to.

- House arrest under electronic surveillance (ARSE): A measure imposed on people awaiting trial while they are awaiting trial.

- How it works: The bracelet is typically worn around the ankle and connected to a device installed in the home. The bracelet monitors movements and issues an alert in the event of non-compliance. Penalties for non-compliance: Failure to comply with the rules may result in a warning, and the police or gendarmerie may be notified. The judge may impose a penalty, such as imprisonment. This system can contribute to changing the mentality of enjoyment or arrogance. Successful premeditated murder of women, children, and men, often resulting from fanaticism, is often the result of fanaticism. Excessive or for reasons that do not warrant it. Therefore, new laws are required, especially those pertaining to the lives of women, children, and vulnerable groups, such as religious minorities, for example. These laws take into account modern technology so we can communicate with the world, not behind it. Mothers and fathers can remain with their children even when the aforementioned punishments are carried out. This is one way to humanize punitive measures and preserve a significant portion of the inheritance rights attached to families, both materially and psychologically. Isn't this better than formal visit restrictions, which often result in other crimes against the visitor—a woman, a child, or the punished individual himself?

However, in Iraq, with the exception of Law No. 8 of 2021 for Compensating Yazidi Survivors, which was enacted in the rush to liberate the country from ISIS and as a step toward transitional justice following the genocide against Yazidis and Christians, the law was passed despite containing numerous loopholes and shortcomings. It is well known that there is a legal crisis regarding women's rights; there is no law that truly does justice to women. There is no law or mechanism specifically for women in Iraq that enables them to safely seek justice. Only through Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, which appears overly patriarchal and discriminatory in several of its articles, such as Article 41, which allows a husband to discipline his wife, and Article 409, which reduces the penalty for a man who kills his wife or "one of his female relatives" in the event of her being caught committing adultery, without similarly reducing the penalty for a wife who kills her husband. These articles, and many others, are considered discriminatory and violate the new constitution, as they apply racial discrimination based on gender. Because "equality before the law," stipulated in Article 14 of the Constitution's Rights and Freedoms, no law has yet been enacted to interpret the article's application with regard to gender equality. Therefore, it is necessary to enact laws that serve Iraqi women's issues as a right, including the proposed Anti-Domestic Violence Law. It is also necessary to establish an official institution run by women, responsible for implementing national strategies and plans, Iraq's international commitments, and representing Iraqi women before international platforms. This is with all due respect to the current administrative tests within various official institutions. The situation has not reached the level of a state institution, or even an independent institution with its own annual budgets commensurate with the needs of women in various situations. Even though women, if not more numerous or close to that, constitute half the population, according to the official statistics of the Ministry of Planning! Here, we must boldly pose the question: Who benefits from this marginalization and devaluation of Iraqi women?

As a result, the systematic justification and legalization of the murder of women is enshrined in the Penal Code. Perhaps even new laws will prove ineffective if the aforementioned articles of the discriminatory laws are not amended, and the male mentality toward women is not changed, which sometimes prevails even among educated people, including university and professorial figures, who accept and justify this act of murder. How easy it is to fabricate and accuse crimes, disguise them as honor killings, washing away shame, suicide, and other justifications to escape punishment. Given all of the above, it seems that the subject of training in thinking and contemplating the essence of humanity is what calls on consciences and minds to recognize the value of the human person and move forward to respect it and enhance its influence towards promoting peace, instead of irrational wars and conflicts that begin in the mind and intellect of the human person, as stated in the preamble to the UNESCO Charter, a famous example, which states that "since wars begin in the minds of men, the defenses of peace must be constructed in the minds of men."

So we conclude from this very correct statement: every war, small or large, begins in the thoughts of individuals and spreads to groups. The real flashpoint for all wars starts in families, not in the open air, because the person who initiated the idea is also a member of a family, and what he received in his upbringing and family environment affected the crystallization of his personality and his awareness of the importance of others and what is around him. Hence, it is very important to teach respect and practice justice towards the most important point in the family, which is the family axis point represented by the presence and status of women, who spend most of their lives, even if some of them may hold a position or work outside the home (which is unfortunately a very small percentage, not exceeding 7% of the 13 million Iraqi women of working age, which makes Iraq the last number in the sequence of countries in the world in employing women, number 195 in the number of countries in the world! While according to the global average, the rate of women’s participation in the workforce in 2024 reached 50.6%. The report showed that Burundi in Africa tops the list of countries with the highest percentage of women in the workforce, as the percentage of women reaches 78.25% of the formal and informal workforce. (SeaWorld 2024 Report).

Yet, women remain more mentally and practically committed to the affairs and concerns of their families, a sacred priority. In my almost daily encounters with female employees in various government departments, they repeatedly recount their very similar reality: their ability, in addition to official working hours, to fulfill the family's needs upon their return home. They respond gratuitously, day and night, to the demands of their children, husbands, and other family members, in addition to serving guests to maintain an acceptable reputation for their husbands and everyone in their environment. Men rarely share this reality, which is not as easy as the patriarchal mindset suggests. These men believe that marriage to one or more women is about providing the necessary means to satisfy their sexual desires and enjoying the free domestic service women provide without any objection. While women forget to demand their right to share household duties with men in an actual partnership in maintaining family life in a humane manner, characterized by mutual respect between spouses, which in turn has a positive impact on the entire family in sharing the performance of tasks in love as a basis for building the human being in actual love and practicing mutual respect for human dignity. Thus, children grow up instilling the meaning of rights and duties from the earliest days, i.e., the first elementary school, and embarking on public and private life, fundamentally prepared to perform daily life services with a spirit that inspires a sense of responsibility and a clear conscience toward others, not with the goal of controlling and dominating their rights by justifying corruption, breaking laws, and mastering the normalization of evil by instilling the rejection of others with pride, leading to violence that has become part of the cultural heritage in the name of "moral education" and Eastern values, etc.

- Here, too, the importance of the fundamental role of educational institutions becomes apparent in building generations who yearn for peace and stability through structural improvements to educational institutions, represented by their educational programs, the level of their staff, and even the infrastructure of their school buildings and annexes. Together, these improvements can hone and expand positive mental and academic capabilities geared toward creating a better future in which the story of wars and stability becomes a thing of the past.

The media also plays an important role in all of this work, provided it is fair and not directed and monopolizes its professionalism for political or personal promotion, rather than being a genuine tool in the service of citizens to reflect information impartially. This is part of citizens' rights to be informed of both positive and negative facts, calling for active participation in utilizing their intellectual abilities and proposing and demanding alternatives and development initiatives with the aim of finding solutions toward stability, harmony, and sustainable peace in society. Here, we clarify that the issue is not solely about rights, which is the dominant view in the East. Due to the chaotic political legacy in all countries and the ongoing conflicts, people believe they have rights, and only those in various authorities are required to do everything, without any fault. In principle, this is something no one doubts. However, the responsibility remains shared in sharing duties and supporting stability from the very foundation of a human community, and each person, from their place, is fully responsible for the safety and stability of their environment at all levels. On a daily basis, we observe in central Baghdad, even in the simplest of matters, citizens harming themselves, the place, the country's resources, and its reputation by reaching out of car windows to throw garbage in the middle of a clean, paved public street! Is this not the result of negligence or belittling the seriousness of the offense on the part of the perpetrators, and ignorance of the seriousness of the crime seeds planted in the minds of the perpetrators due to the negligence in other municipal and civil procedures that may require training and awareness to fulfill their duties in issuing the required instructions to hold perpetrators of such behavior accountable, at the very least with financial fines, which are the most effective and continuous punishments? These instructions can also be clarified in written messages displayed on streets and public parking areas in a renewed manner to create a culture of responsibility, starting from the simplest matters, which, if indicative of deviation, demonstrates proper upbringing and guidance. In all of this, the role of continuous media promotion must be employed, and in the imagination of officials, the dignity and rights of citizens must be employed to educate them to know how to perform their duties, as well as to know and enjoy their rights.

 The question raised above is whether the absence of women and their diverse experiences in social affairs during decision-making related to this harsh reality is one of the reasons for the lack of success. Here again, I am not generalizing about the perfection of women; rather, I know that there are those who are not up to the responsibility, and their parliamentary presence is a clear example. Most women are thrust into parliament by male-dominated parties who care less about their performance than about filling the mandatory quota gap, especially if it is implemented unconditionally, based on the wishes of the political faction. Thus, we do not hear their voices or see their faces for anything, and the parliamentary term ends, and they return to their families, benefiting just like the men who were with them, without achieving anything. I mean those who actually possess experience, capabilities, and updated knowledge in legal, political, and human rights matters. Civil service is not just positions for the sake of positions. Rather, before anything else, it is an awareness of the implications of the position, which is nothing more than serving the citizen, and this requires a sense of responsibility. Public service has no other guide than the citizen. Therefore, before financial incentives and prestige, it is serving others, regardless of their position in society. Ultimately, the unfortunate reality lies in the marginalization of capable women, because women are, in principle, more experienced in social affairs than men.

Yet, strangely, the active women are excluded in favor of the subordinates. This imbalance and chaos undermine the wheel of progress, confirming what has been said about not putting the right people in the right places!