IN SOLIDARITY WITH IRAQI WOMEN’S RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS
European Feminist Initiative IFE-EFI and MENA partners, among them women’s rights organizations from Iraq and Kurdistan Region, are working together to advocate in the Euro-Mediterranean political space for the values of equality between women and men and the demand for the recognition and implementation of women’s fundamental right to full citizenship.
They develop common actions based on mutual solidarity to reinforce the values of universality of women’s rights, non-violence, anti-militarism and separation of all religions from legislative and political spheres.
They address the challenges women are facing in the Euro-Med region, notably consequences of the global economic, political crisis and rise of religious extremism and conservative trends forces.
Iraq is now facing severe danger due to the wave of political Islamist terrorism and religious extremism threatening the population in the whole country and spreading fear and dread among civilians. After the United States invasion war, Iraq’s already entrenched divisions between communities, mostly created by a successful “divide and rule” strategy, were even more exacerbated. As in all armed conflicts, women are the first victims and most affected by the consequences of the present tragedy; rape, sexual torture, prostitution, slavery are being used to
humiliate and subjugate women and the whole community.
IFE-EFI expresses full solidarity with Iraqi women’s rights organizations that launched a call for cooperation of all Iraqis, a call to all political forces and parties, to all civil society organizations and media:
- To confront the ambient danger to the country;
- To mobilize to keep away Iraqi cities from disasters of battles and military confrontations and Iraq from sectarianism, religious fundamentalisms, communitarianism and corruption;
- To mobilize for the protection of the security and safety of Iraqi people, women and men, from any internal or external breach;
- To provide immediate protection for women and girls from sexual violence IFE-EFI will act with all other components of the democratic movement in order to exert pressure on European governments and all international institutional actors to take immediate political and diplomatic steps to stop this conflict and to act for a non-violent transition in Iraq towards sustainable and just peace and towards democracy installed by the freedom loving people of Iraq.
European Feminist Initiative IFE-EFI
22 June 2014, Paris
Initiative Féministe Européenne – European Feminist Initiative IFE-EFI
20 rue Soufflot 75005 Paris France; P.O. Box 17345 Amman 111 95 Jordan
SIRET: 48854169900010
