Women’s affairs under discussion in Arbil conference

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: The International Republican Institute (IRI) held a conference today to discuss the status women and various legislation. The two-day conference is trying to “fill the gap between the Iraqi law and legislation (Shari’a) in a manner that will serve the Iraqi society, including women,” Mr.Kallumadanda Sujey, director of the governmental section in IRI, announced today. In the opening of the conference, Iraqi secretary of the Cabinet Dr.Al- al-Alaq confirmed the necessity to consolidate the bases of the system, which is passing through a new experiment nowadays. Minister of Women Affairs Ibtihal al-Zaidi described the conference as “an important step in building democracy in Iraq”, pointing out that “much legislation requires amendments”. She disclosed that anti-family violence law reached to its final stages for endorsement by the Iraqi parliament. Participants from the Iraqi Cabinet, Higher Judicial Council, the Parliament, Higher Women Affairs Council in Kurdistan and NGOs took part in the conference.