Iraqi Women's Democracy Initiative

archived

Women?s Political Participation in Decision Making: Women and the 2014 Elections (Approximately $800,000 available)Target NGO would work to identify and support women leaders in the Council of Representatives to broaden their knowledge, credibility and effectiveness in their political roles in addressing key issues such as defense, finance, economic growth, protection of human rights as an element of security, service delivery, and the energy sector. Target NGO would support women to have greater knowledge regarding how to leverage their connections with their constituencies to advance their political careers and conversely to make national level politics relevant to their home base. The program should support political parties in emphasizing women?s role throughout the policy development process and increasing the number of women in political party leadership positions. Prevention of Violence: Women?s Leadership in Ending Violence: (Approximately $900,000 available)The goal of this program is to build support for countering or mitigating violence in Iraq by promoting women?s leadership roles through non-governmental platforms such as a mixed-gender taskforce or coalition. The program should demonstrate the unique role women leaders can have at both a national and local level to advance peace and an end to conflict, while engaging men of influence as partners in these efforts. Target NGO would build on existing governmental and nongovernmental efforts to reduce and preventviolence in Iraq and create a national coalition of high level female leaders across the public and private sectors, including police and law enforcement, to to address issues of gender-based violence and find peaceful solutions to conflict. The taskforce would also serve as a platform for effective gender sensitive models of community driven methods of violence reduction and de-radicalization. Key activities of the program could include 1) Establish a national co alition of leaders and creating a unified mission and cohesion among its members; 2) Provide capacity bulding subgrants to organizations to train women, men and youth to address violence against women in areas that may include a) implementing innovative grassroots educational initiatives to eliminate violence against women, b) raising awareness of legal obstacles to the advancement of women?s rights to legislators, key members of the public sector, police and law enforcement through grassroots advocacy and the media, and c) providing legal assistance to women victims of violence. Sub-grantees should demonstrate unique but proven methods of integrating engaging men, boys and religious leaders into program implementation; 3) Providing visibility for women peace-builders, religious leaders and youth who have demonstrated significant commitments to advancing the message of non-violence at a national, regional and international forums and media outlets.

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