The American University of Iraq-Baghdad’s (AUIB’s) events and activities celebrating the International Women’s Day culminated in a forum that hosted a distinguished group of Iraqi women leaders in various spheres_ political, professional, administrative, and otherwise, in addition to state officials, diplomats, and military figures.
AUIB President, Dr. Michael Mulnix, welcomed the guest dignitaries and attendees, among whom were representatives of the Iraqi President’s office and the Prime Minister’s office, Members of Parliament, Ministers, General Directors, President of the Iraqi Bar Association, diplomats, representatives of United Nations agencies, Iraqi and NATO officers. Also in attendance were AUIB students, members of faculty, and staff.
“Peace and women’s rights are the focal points of this occasion,” announced President Mulnix, speaking of “women’s right to equal opportunities, including the right to hold public office,” and the right to be safe from violence, as chief among women’s rights. “Unfortunately, too many women are denied opportunity because of war and poverty,” added President Mulnix, pointing out that “women and girls work twice as hard to support their families and to succeed,” highlighting the need for offsetting the disadvantage that women find themselves at, namely by empowering them through quality education.
“Enrollment of young women continues to be strong in all AUIB colleges. Their education is crucial to the success of this nation, and they will emerge as leaders in all sectors,” as the new educational model that AUIB presents would foster broad as well as specialized knowledge, practical skills, and confidence in its graduates, and would also “educate young men to respect women and believe in them; to see them as equals in society, and to recognize and celebrate their potential and achievements,” concluded President Mulnix.
“It’s exciting and inspiring to be here” at the present occasion, said Ms. Cynthia Plath, Political Counselor at the United States’ Embassy in Baghdad, speaking of the “significant challenges that disproportionately affect women,” and calling for addressing these challenges by focusing on women’s needs: “If women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish,” and thus “communities and the nation will flourish”. Ms. Plath also highlighted women’s “need for networks of support from colleagues,” as well as “networks of partnerships and friendships.”
For her part, Ms. Serwa Abdul-Wahid, Member of the Iraqi Parliament, saluted “every man who supports women, be it as a brother or a friend or a superior at work,” enabling women to achieve their ambitions.
In turn, Ms. Ahlam Al-Lami, President of the Iraqi Bar Association, saw that “the Iraqi woman might be special, distinct from all other women on Earth,” as she has “suffered a great deal during the past decades,” but still persevered and achieved remarkable success. Iraqi women were pioneers in leading positions in several aspects of social life, however, “wars, siege, terror, and detestable sectarianism” caused their living conditions and position in society to deteriorate, pointed out Ms. Al-Lami, acclaiming, at the same time, that “many widows and orphans still persevered and succeeded.” Ms. Al-Lami thus called for Iraqi women’s resilience and achievements to be reflected in their political representation and role, invoking Iraq’s “rich, thousands of years old civilization, where women were in the forefront, as shown by ancient artefacts and drawings.”