Abstracts Womens Studies

The Impact of I-NAP on Enhancing Women Political Participation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

by Pakhshan khaleel Kakawais

The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security adopted in October 2000 was a remarkable step towards the recognition of women’s rights and their participation in peace building and conflict resolution efforts. It addressed women for the first time as agents of change not only victims in conflicts. In February 2014 the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) launched a joint five-year National Action Plan for implementation of the UN resolution in the country (I-NAP 2014-18) and became the first Middle Eastern country to adopt and launch its plan for the implementation of the UN resolution. The I-NAP 2014-18 prioritized six pillars for action and sets of objectives under each pillar. This research analyses the participation pillar of the I-NAP 2014-18 and seeks to understand to what extent it was effective in advancing women’s political participation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). It also analyses the challenging processes of adopting, launching and implementing the I-NAP, as well as the criticisms it received. A set of recommendations at the end is presented to provide viable options for the next version of the I-NAP that could meet the goals of the original UN resolution when adapted.