Iraqi government to revive Supreme Council for Women

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Saturday the government would reconstitute the Supreme Council for Women and activate it under a new framework, the one new measure to emerge from a Baghdad conference attended by Iraq’s four most senior officials.

President Nizar Amedi used the platform to press political blocs to guarantee women’s representation as the remaining cabinet posts are filled, a reference to positions still vacant in a government seated in May. He also said the presidency backs “the strict governmental and legal effort to eliminate corruption and recover public funds.”

Supreme Judicial Council President Judge Faiq Zaidan said the council has set up specialized domestic violence courts and established the Arab Women Judges Network in Baghdad. He said courts have been instructed to take measures protecting women from violence.

Ammar al-Hakim, whose National Wisdom Movement organized the conference, called for full implementation of the Yazidi Female Survivors Law and for extending its protections to other victims of retaliatory violence. He urged lawmakers to toughen legislation on online blackmail targeting women and to widen implementation of the National Family Initiative.

Zaidi said protecting women from assault and blackmail requires “a culture of respect for women” and is “a responsibility shared by society, the government and the state.” Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi said the legislature continues to review laws on women and families, calling women’s protection “a national issue linked to the future of generations.”

The event was the 18th Islamic Day for Combating Violence Against Women. Zaidi credited the late Abdul Aziz al-Hakim with initiating it.