Women’s quota in Kurdistan parliament is low: parliamentarian
ERBIL, KRG, Iraq (North Press) – A parliamentarian in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG) said on Monday that women’s representation in decision-making positions in the region is low, and she also indicated a decrease in the number of women in the workplace.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, parliamentarian Shadi Nawzad told North Press about the women’s quota in the Parliament of the Kurdistan Region, which has been legally set at 30%.
“But it is a good rate compared to the Iraqi parliament, which has set the women’s quota at 25%,” according to Nawzad.
“In the executive authority, the women’s quota in the current government cabinet in KRG is three ministers, which is good compared to the previous government, that granted women only two ministers,” she added.
The parliamentarian referred to what she described as the problem in the government, which is that decision-making positions such as secretaries of ministers and public administration positions are almost devoid of female representation.
“There is a big problem about the mechanism of raising female’s quota in the KRG, and this is what we are working for in Parliament, especially by the committees concerned with women,” she added.
On the economic front, Nawzad, who is the vice chair of the Parliament’s Women’s Committee, said, “A very small percentage of women have a financial source.”
Nawzad depended on the figures revealed by the International Monetary Fund, as one woman out of 100 has her own business.
“23% – 28% of all women in the region have job opportunities and do their jobs, and this is a very small percentage,” she said.
She said that the issue of the lack of a financial source or support for women increases their suffering, especially on the social level.
The parliamentarian indicated that there is a relationship between violence against women and their access to work, and that the more she has more job opportunities, the less problems and violence are applied to her.