Southern women conf. in Thi-Qar

THI-QAR / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi province of Thi-Qar on Thursday hosted a women’s conference, which aimed to address the problems facing women in southern Iraq. “The conference has tackled the political and cultural rights of southern women,” the head of the women’s league in Thi-Qar, Manal Ibrahim Motlak, told IraqiNews.com. Committees have been set up to promote the participation of women in the political process and elections, Motlak added. More than 170 women took part in the conference. Thi-Qar, 380 km south of Baghdad, has an area of 12,900 square kilometers (4,980.7 sq mi). In 2003 the estimated population of the governorate was 1,454,200 people. Thi-Qar was the second Iraqi province where security responsibilities were transferred from the Multi-National Force (MNF) to the Iraqis. The province’s capital is the city of al-Nassiriya. It also includes the ancient Sumerian ruins of Ur, Eridu, Lagash and Ngirsu. Before 1976 the province was known as al-Muntafiq. SS (P) 1