The Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, declared that all remarks pertaining to the amendment of the Personal Status Law would be discussed by the Supreme Council for Women’s Affairs.
Al-Sudani added a speech in which he appreciated the efforts exerted in holding this significant conference, the aims of which are to strengthen women’s presence, reinforce their effective role, and contribute to the building of society. He drew on the positions of women throughout history like Lady Khadija the Great, Lady Fatima Al-Zahra, Lady of the Women of the World; Lady Zainab, peace be upon her; and Lady Mary, the Virgin, who were really the ones that shaped the course of the most major changes in history.
As indicated, Al-Sudani emphasized that any form of society did not approve or support any act of violence against women. It basically sends a signal that the government had supported the 16-day campaign on zero tolerance to violence against women and got an instant realization that empowered and capable women were the answer for implementing long-term economic and social reform and ambitious development plans.
He indicated the efforts made by the public authority, which started supporting ladies and ended up launching the Public Approach to Iraqi Ladies (2023-2030) that incorporates goals and aspirations steering ladies toward progress and prosperity. It also established drives concerning women’s safety, such as the Riyada Drive, among other initiatives targeting young women and men launched by the Supreme Council of Youth, in addition to the initiative to send 5,000 female and male students to complete their postgraduate studies.
He added that our government has included a large number of female leaders within its administrative institutions, such as three female ministers, two who hold the position of undersecretary, 111 who are general managers, and 47 who are assistant general managers. This indicates that we wanted to establish the Supreme Council for Women’s Affairs as the direct planning and executive gateway to all decisions related to the development of women.
He continued, “The Council will soon debate, in a specialized workshop, all the observations raised regarding the Personal Status Law.” He added that the initiative of the National Team for Iraqi Women was launched by the Council to develop the skills of young women in various fields and that some 5,000 young women would be selected from all governorates, stating that the National Women’s Training Program had been approved to train women working in the private sector. He continued, saying that the Council would debate all the remarks that were raised with respect to the
He added that our government had appointed the first female graduates and those holding higher degrees in various specializations totaling 24,922, and that the percentage of women appointed from the medical group reached 55% of the total appointed according to the law of progression for those working in the medical and health professions.
Al-Sudani continued, “Our government continues to reduce unemployment rates among women, which reach 28%, which was the percentage it had attained some time ago. We are still struggling to lower the illiteracy rate among women and try to combat it as it reached 17% some years ago through the development of plans and programs.
On another level, he denounced the massacre that happened this morning at dawn by Zionist occupation forces at a school sheltering displaced persons in Al-Daraj of the Gaza Strip, which left more than 100 people, who were performing the dawn prayer, injured.
