Kurdish Women for Peace & Equality – International Conference
Author: Womens UN Report Network
Date: July 22, 2005
Equality
This conference will be dedicated to the memory of the late Mrs. Soraya
Serajeddini
Previous Executive Vice President of the Kurdish National
Congress
Date: March 8th & 11th, 2007 (International Women’s
Day)
Place: Southern Kurdistan, Hawler and Sulaimany
The Kurdish National Congress of North America will hold a conference on
Kurdish Women in Greater Kurdistan (Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria) and in the
Diaspora.
The conference will be held in Southern Kurdistan and will be focusing on the
role of Kurdish women in politics, science, art, and history inside Kurdistan
and in Diaspora as well as marginal participation of women in politics. Kurdish
Women compose half of the citizens in Kurdish society. Opportunities for women
to be represented in political bodies and to have influence in political matters
are important yardsticks of democracy and thus an integral indication of social
development and democratization processes in the region. Increasing the active
participation of women in politics and the representation of women in positions
of power remains a crucial and critical step towards obtaining gender balance in
Kurdish society. At the same time it is important to examine the “gender” of
politics, science, art, and the implications of gender in the political,
scientific and artistic aspects of life in Kurdistan. KNC holds the position
that true peace, referred to in the peace studies literature as “positive peace”
is only possible under conditions of just and fair gender relations, respect for
democratic rights and freedoms, and equal opportunities for economic, social and
intellectual development across age, class, ethnicity and gender.
The conference will address both quantitative and qualitative aspects of
Kurdish women’s role in politics, science and art. Studies on women and politics
have suggested a variety of possible explanations for the paucity of women
leaders and the marginalization of women in politics. These include electoral
systems, party systems, gender-role socialization, women’s movement, political
culture, religion, and women’s representation among professions from which
potential leaders are drawn. The conference looks at both obstacles/constraints
to progress and the emerging practices/strategies leading to progress, and
encourages both structurally oriented and actor-oriented explanations for either
the lack or the increase of women in political bodies, sciences and art in
different cultural, political and developmental contexts across Kurdistan.
As for the qualitative aspect of Kurdish women and politics, science, art,
and history the conference will address issues concerning gender and power
relations. The conference will look into alternatives or informal channels of
participation, Kurdish women’s exercise of power through these channels, and
Kurdish women’s role in influencing political, science and art agendas.
Moreover, the conference will address the impact of diverse political discourses
and religious systems on shaping the status quo. It will examine what political
options these discourses provide for women and how women maneuver within or
across different political discourses.
The conference will look into establishing channels of cooperation between
women organizations in Northern America, Europe and Kurdistan for the purpose of
advancing and enhancing women role in building the new civil society in
Kurdistan and democracy.
The conference is inviting proposals for presentations on these topics.
Please submit inquires and proposals to conference Chairwoman Soraya Fallah, her
contact information is listed below.
We are looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you at the
conference.
Conference Coordinators
Chair of Kurdish Women’s Conference
Soraya Fallah
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