Enhancing the Right of Women towards a political Participation

Effective participation of women in public political life is a valuable component of governance. It is a human right and a matter of fairness, affirmed at the highest global level, with Goal 5 of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda focusing squarely on the objective to: “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” This equitable participation of women in politics and government is essential to building and sustaining democracy.
Women’s equal access to political participation is not just a question of women’s rights. It is at the core of democratic transition and good governance. The participation of women in politics is linked to the civil and political rights of women, ranging from the ability to vote, expressing their voice and running for office, to the possibility of accessing public service positions.
This study has been published by Al Firdaws organization, A peace building non governmental organization in Basra Iraq, in framework of the implementation of the project “Political Participation of Women is a Right not a Gift” funded by Norwegian People’s Aid and SIDA in accordance with the standards of the United Nations International Human Rights instruments, Iraqi constitution, national legislation, plans and strategies, and national efforts to achieve gender equality. It also highlighted the governmental and shadow reports submitted to contractual committee bodies,(in particular the framework of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CEDAW,) Iraq’s UPR Report, concluding observations of HR Committees, and annual reports of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Higher Education, gender research issued by the Ministry of Planning in Iraq, and a number of field studies that reflect the situation of women in reality.