The Mercy Corps Blog

Blog Post Posted August 24, 2009, 11:23 am by Emily Gish

U.S. ambassador visits women's peace-building program in Iraq

From a cellphone camera, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill meets with one of the participants of a Mercy Corps program that empowers women as peace-builders in Kirkuk. Photo: Mercy Corps

Last Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill met with six women participants of Mercy Corps' Empowering Women Peace Builders in Kirkuk program, and discussed with women their views on the future of Kirkuk and U.S. policy in the contested city and Iraq at large.

The program, which is funded by the Iraqi Women's Democracy Fund and is administered by the State Departments’ Office on Global Women's Issues, seeks to build the leadership and peace building capacity of individual women leaders, build the organizational and peace building capacity of women focused civil society organizations through trainings and the awarding of small grants to carry out peace building and tolerance promotion activities in Kirkuk. Equally as important, the program builds a network of women peace builders that the women can use for information and support.

Kirkuk, which is at the center of tensions between the Kurdish regional government and the Iraqi central government, is the home of a diverse citizenry with large populations of Arabs and Kurds as well as sizable Turkmen and Christian minorities. Many Kurds view Kirkuk as its historic capital and complicating matters even further, it sits atop large oil and gas reserves. Recently there has been an increase in tensions in the city and surrounding areas as well as several high profile bombings.

Participants of Mercy Corps' Empowering Women Peace Builders in Kirkuk program. Photo: Jacob Colie/Mercy Corps

Despite the ethnic diversity of the women in the meeting — which included Arab, Kurd, Turkmen, and Christian representatives — and the diversity in their professions — which included Provincial Council members, leaders of civil society organizations, teachers and rights activists — common themes in their messages to the Ambassador emerged.

All women agreed that the inclusion of women and youth in peace building is essential both at the grassroots level and in the more formal political processes. They also agreed that it is important for the government and the general public to better comprehend the vital role that independent civil society should play in a democratic Iraq. They asked for longer term support for peace building, explaining that it will take time to achieve real peace in Kirkuk. Addressing special needs for widows and other female headed households, especially economic empowerment and greater knowledge of their rights — which often starts with literacy, was also seen as urgent.

Ambassador Hill assured the meeting's participants that the both peace building in Iraq and women’s issues are important to the embassy and he challenged the women to continue their work for peace building and tolerance promotion in Iraq in general and Kirkuk in particular.