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IF Celebrates International Women's Day:
IF Launches 2nd Wave of Media Campaign for International Women's Day
 In
conjunction with International Women's Day, which was held world-wide
on March 8, the Iraq Foundation launched the second wave of our Human
Rights Advocacy Initiative's media campaign geared toward promoting the
rights of women. The campaign utilizes a variety of media to promote
the rights of women, including the production and broadcast of 70
television and 90 radio spots, which will be aired throughout Iraq on
Al-Iraqiya radio and Al-Iraqiya TV. The campaign also erected ten full
sized billboards carrying our message and distributed 2,500 posters to
various civil society organizations and state institutions. The second
wave will continue until the end of April.
Learn more about the Human Rights Advocacy Initiative...
IF Sponsors Roundtable Discussion on Women's Rights in Iraq for International Women's Day
On March 10, also on
the occasion of International Women's Day, IF sponsored a roundtable
discussion with prominent political and civil society figures. The
roundtable was broadcast on Al-Hurra TV, and featured several distinguished members of parliament, including MP Ms.
Samira Al-Musawi, MP Ms. Maysoun Al-Damlouji, as well as former minister Ms. Azhar
Al-Shaykhali. IF Executive Director Ms. Rend Al-Rahim, hosted the event. The discussion
included a debate about the extent of the government's contribution to
advancing the Iraqi women socioeconomic condition and the Iraq
Foundation's contribution to promoting women's rights in Iraq.
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IF Holds Graduation Ceremony for Iraqi Widows Baghdad
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On March 10, IF held a graduation ceremony to honor the 50 Iraqi widows completed the first cycle of training in Baghdad as part of the Widows Empowerment Project (WEP). During this ceremony the participating widows received certificates and small gifts to commemorate this accomplishment. Joined by an additional 50 widows, who will begin the program's second training cycle in April, IF used this occasion to highlight conditions facing the widows and the urgent need for assistance and training programs. The ceremony was covered by a variety of media outlets and newspapers and was publicized throughout the country and region. In addition to the widows and their families, Iraqi ministry officials, including Samira Al-Musawi, head of the Committee on Women, Family and Children, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Human Rights, Baghdad Council, and the US Embassy, and IF's Executive Director, Rend Al-Rahim, attended the event.
In addition to the ceremony, IF's WEP staff also assisted three participating widows in finding a jobs in Baghdad. In Basra, 12 participating widows are working to establish their own sewing workshops, which would enable them to assist other widows in their communities, as part of an IRD grant. IF would also like to mention the donation of 16 sewing machines to participating widows.
Learn more about WEP...
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IF Holds Coalition Building Meeting and Advocacy Workshop in Erbil
 IF held a
its third coalition building meeting on March 12, as part of the Human Rights Advocacy Initiative (HRAI) project The meeting aimed at strengthening the coalition established last May and also at improving coalition members' skills in using the Martus human rights documentation software.
In addition, HRAI coalition members participated in the project's second advocacy workshop from the 13 - 15. The goal of this workshop was to improve the report writing skills of
coalition members. During the workshop, IF staff and coalition members met with several
government officials including the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Minister
of Human Rights, and KRG's Minister of Civil Society. IF also continued advocacy
initiatives nationwide and monitored human rights reports and activities in the
media and the Iraqi Parliament.
Learn more...
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IF Recruits for the Mdaina Education Project
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During the month March IF staff started advertising for participants
for the Mdaina Education Project (MEP) in various media outlets including the Nahrain website,
AlFayha network, as well as local mosques and schools. In addition, IF staff also started
developing the traditional literacy and computer training curricula to be used
for the project.
Learn more about MEP...
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