MARYLAND'S WOMEN LEGISLATORS, SECRETARY OF STATE HOST IRAQI WOMEN LEADERS AT THE STATE HOUSE
(WASHINGTON, DC) - Women's History Month will come to a close with a reminder of the significance of camaraderie and courage as Maryland Secretary of State John P. McDonough and the legislature's Women's Caucus led by Delegate Sue Kullen welcomes a delegation of 15 Iraqi women leaders at the State House in Annapolis on Thursday, March 25, 2010.
Thursday's meetings are being hosted by the Women Legislators of the Maryland General Assembly in partnership with the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL).
15 Iraqi female Provincial Council members representing eight provinces, including Baghdad, Basrah, Diyala, Maysan, Najaf, Salah al-Din, Tameem, and Thi-Qar are currently being hosted for a brief two week visit to the United States by the U.S. Department of State's Office of Global Women's Issues in conjunction with their Iraqi Women's Democracy Initiative.
Each member of the Iraqi delegation plays an influential role in her community, is a strong and active leader on women's issues, and is an active member of provincial committees.
During their visit to the U.S. the women leaders have been receiving trainings and engaging in high-level meetings to focus on numerous topics of importance in the political process such as government management, coalition building, media, advocacy, strategic policy planning, accountability, anti-corruption, transparency, local government role, NGO and grassroots outreach, and constituency outreach.
"The Women Legislators of Maryland are so pleased to host the Iraqi Women Provincial Council Members. We hope to continue an ongoing partnership for ideas beneficial to all women that we represent," stated Delegate Sue Kullen, President of Women Legislators of the Maryland General Assembly.
"The Maryland General Assembly has one of the most active and effective women's caucuses in the nation and as soon as we learned that this group of inspiring Iraqi women leaders would be visiting the DC area, we knew they absolutely needed to visit Annapolis," state Robin Read, NFWL's President & CEO. "The insights these Provincial Council members will receive from their counterparts in Maryland will empower them as they return to Iraq."
Earlier this month, a delegation of 7 U.S. elected women from across the nation selected by NFWL in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State served as official Election Observers in Baghdad. NFWL is one of only two groups of Americans that were invited to oversee Iraq's election on March 7th. The other group included former Members of Congress.
NFWL was asked to participate in the Iraqi elections due to the unique status of women in Iraq. There are over one million widows in Iraq, many very highly educated, and there is a requirement that 25% of the candidates on the ballot be women. NFWL was charged with bringing a calm and credible presence to the elections, and women leaders such as the hearty band of 7 women leaders representing NFWL recognize the importance of free and fair elections to the stability of Iraq and the United States' national security.
The delegation of Iraqi Female Provincial Council Members will meet with Secretary McDonough, be formally recognized by the Maryland House and Senate, and will engage in dialogue with many members of the Women's Caucus during a special event to facilitate conversation and shared experiences.