This resource is from the Issues section. This page contains details of the Iraqi Women’s Internship Programme reception hosted by the MPA.

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Iraqi Women’s Internship Programme reception

On 25 May 2005 the MPA hosted a reception as part of the Iraqi Women’s Internship Programme 2005/06.

Representation of women in public life is a serious gender equality issue in the UK. Only 18% of MPs are women along with only 39% of all public appointments. The challenges facing equal participation in public life in the reconstruction process in Iraq are greater still.

The Iraqi Women’s Internship Programme, sponsored by the Women’s National Commission, the UK government’s advisory group on women’s issues, aims to build the capacity of Iraqi women in public life to champion gender related issues in the national decision-making processes in Iraq.

Consultation with a large number of Iraqi activists had identified participation in experiential training initiatives outside Iraq as a priority. Through participation in this programme, interns explore alternative models of civil society engagement which promote gender equality and equity.

The internship aims to equip the interns, through participatory training, to transfer and cascade their learning to promote greater active participation by women in public life in Iraq. The programme included shadowing women MPs and other politicians, taking part in discussions with agencies working to promote gender equality and visiting voluntary sector organisations working to improve women’s rights and experiences.

The Deputy Chair of the MPA, Cindy Butts, the Chair of Human Resources Committee, Rachel Whittaker, the Chair of Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board, Kirsten Hearn, and the Chief Executive, Catherine Crawford, hosted a reception, as part of the internship programme, for six talented and courageous interns to share their experiences, and to learn about the role of a British police authority in the context of non-militarised policing delivered by consent.

The interns who took part were:

• Nassreen Rahem - journalist, Women’s Media and Education Centre (Iraqi Kurdish NGO), Sulaimanyah
• Salma Abdalrsul - volunteer with Women’s Alliance for Democracy in Iraq, Kirkuk
• Surood Ahmmad – working with al-Rafidain Women’s Organisation Islamic women’s group offering humanitarian aid and civic education to women in Baghdad
• Taa'meem Abd-ul-Hussein - working with two civil society groups in al-Amarah: Iraqi Society for Change and Women Future Organisation. Taa’meem has worked on gender issues in social development with local and international NGOs.
• Ula Ibrahim – working for the Iraqi Independent Women’s Group, a secular civil society group in Baghdad
• Zainab Salman – Baghdad’s Women’s Association which promotes women’s involvement in local governance
• Farkhanda Chaudhry – WNC Commissioner and Iraqi Women’s Internship Programme Co-ordinator and Mentor

The experiences of the women were diverse both in terms of their professional expertise, including education, computer science, journalism, academia, voluntary sector leaders, and their identities in terms of religion, ethnicity and geographical origin within Iraq, and language.

Key learning from the Internship Programme identified by the interns included:

• Valuing and recognising diversity as a positive benefit
• The need to promote equal justice at work
• The importance of enabling young people to be able to influence political decision-making
• The importance of uniting women’s non-governmental organisations to support and promote strength in a unified message
• The importance of a dialogue between communities and government

The Chief Executive, the Deputy Chair and the Chair of EOBD each spoke giving an overview of:

• The role of the authority in the context of British policing
• How the MPA works to give the community a voice in policing
• How it incorporates divers perspectives, particularly women's voices
• How the MPS promotes democratic involvement, community cohesion and tackles community conflict
• The role of women on the MPA and in policing generally.

The interns asked questions around:

• Domestic violence – describing their shock at the prevalence and incidence of domestic abuse in the UK, and how impressed they were that the state response is that domestic violence is a crime and should be investigated robustly
• Forced marriage – the interns were interested in the response by police services in UK. They had strong concerns regarding the extent of the practice in rural Iraq and the level of under-reporting.
• Women in the MPS – the interns reported that there are 85 women in the Iraqi military and were interested in the representation of women in the MPS and their experiences.

The reception was felt to be hugely successful by, and beneficial to, all involved. The MPA is keen to play a fuller role in future internship programmes.