KURDISH INDEPENDENT ADVOCATES CROSS-PARTY DIALOGUE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000869 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2026 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER KDEM KWMN IZ SUBJECT: KURDISH INDEPENDENT ADVOCATES CROSS-PARTY DIALOGUE ON WOMEN'S ISSUES Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On March 14, Kurdish Independent parliamentarian Samia Aziz told poloff that although 25 percent of the Council of Representatives is made up of women, they are grossly underrepresented at the highest levels of inter-party discussion. She said she hoped to once again serve on the Immigration Committee, as she had in the TNA. She noted that she was willing to do "whatever is necessary" to make her voice heard. She advocated more dialogue among women in the Council of Representatives, but also noted that "women need to learn how to really talk to the men." END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) In a March 14 meeting, Aziz lamented the fact that although 25 percent of the Council of Representatives is made up of women, they are grossly underrepresented at the highest levels of inter-party discussion. She said that although women parliamentarians are well educated professionals, with considerable experience and qualifications, they are excluded from every decision that directly affects their parties and platforms. When asked about the Constitution, Aziz noted that the wrong women were placed on the drafting committee, and claimed that "it is okay for women in Parliament to speak about our issues, but it is when we write them down that we have problems." She said she hoped to work with other secular women like Safia Suhail (INL) and Tania Muhammad (PUK) to amend the Personal Status Law and to strengthen the provisions for human rights in the constitution, which she said had been scaled back from the TAL. PolOff affirmed USG support for women's rights, and encouraged inter-party cooperation to advance women's issues on the political agenda. ¶3. (C) Aziz, a Faili Kurd, was an active member of the Immigration Committee of the TNA. She expressed enthusiasm at continuing her work on behalf of the three million displaced persons still living outside of Iraq after being expelled by the previous regime. She noted the increasing number of political parties using the word "Islamic" in their names, and said that there was considerable pressure within the CoR for women to wear the hijab during sessions. She admitted that although she does not generally wear a headscarf, she was willing to do so to keep the focus on her words rather than her looks. (NOTE: At the opening session of Parliament on March 16, Aziz did wear a loosely tied headscarf. Other secular women who do not usually wear the hijab were also seen after the session carrying scarves that had been used to cover their heads during the session. END NOTE) ¶4. (C) Acknowledging that not all Iraqi women share her progressive agenda regarding women's rights, Aziz advocated more cross-party dialogue between CoR women, and more interaction between CoR and women leaders outside of the Parliament. She said that she saw her role as a bridge between different groups, and expressed willingness to organize meetings both inside and outside CoR. She added that it is not enough for women to identify and promote their agenda. Stating that they will have to learn how to communicate with male counterparts and party leaders to be effective, Aziz noted that she is actively building partnerships with like-minded male parliamentarians. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: Aziz is clearly a strong supporter of gender equality and women's rights. Although she is an independent and theoretically not subject to pressure to support a party agenda, ethnic issues ) specifically repatriation and reparations for displaced Faili Kurds ) trump gender issues on her list of priorities. This appears to be the case more often than not in Iraq, with women first identifying themselves by ethnicity or religion, and then by gender. As prioritization of concerns will be important to agenda setting and policy making in the CoR, we plan a series of meetings to further explore this issue with an eye toward fostering cross-sectarian cooperation among Iraqi women. KHALILZAD