EU Parliament pledges support for women of Kurdistan Region (KRG)

03.04.2014 – Hemin Saleh – BasNews, Erbil – On April 1, the EU Parliament held a conference in Brussels, Belgium, to address the violation of women’s rights in the Kurdistan Region. The conference was supervised by the Kurdistan Forum Committee in Belgium, prepared by Rezan Saleh and Najiba Qaradakhi.

The conference was led by the EU Parliament representative in Iraq, Anna Gomes, and was attended by EU Parliament members and women’s rights activists. A documentary film about violations against women in the Kurdistan Region was presented in the conference.

Gona Sa’aid, who participated in the conference, told BasNews that they talked about the lack of commitment in the implementation of laws relating to women’s affairs, as well as the attitude of tolerance towards criminals guilty of abuse. “In the conference, I presented my research about the polygamy law, divorce, inheritance, abortion and sexual harassment in the Kurdistan Region. The treatment of women in the region is often contrary to the principles of human rights and international law,” said Sa’aid. She also pointed out that the EU MPs who attended promised to review carefully all the letters they receive from the Kurdistan Region corresponding to violations against women. “This conference has opened the door to adding pressure on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to change laws and provide a special budget for women’s affairs and better conditions for all women in the Kurdistan Region,” said Sa’aid.