Today as the 46th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women convenes for three weeks, women in the Kurdish regions continue to live with gender-based discrimination on all levels.  From the lack of women wielding real power in companies and government and those receiving less pay for the same work as their male counterparts, to the physical and emotional violence that too many suffer, women, more often than not, are surviving daily human rights abuses. Nonetheless, women in these regions are also symbols of hope in the struggle for their universally recognised rights.    

KHRP’s partner and allied organisations such as VAKAD (Van Women’s Association), SELİS (Women’s Consultation Association), CDO (Civil Development Organisation), Heartland Alliance,  the Women’s Activity Centre, Kirkuk, Zakho Small Village Project (ZSVP), and several bar associations and women’s rights committees, including DİKASUM (Diyarbakır Women Issues Research and Practice Centre Application) and EPİDEM (Centre for Women's Education and Psychological Consultancy) are all doing incredible work to transform their situation and their communities as a whole. These organisations and committees are working to empower women by supporting them when they leave abusive situations, helping them to earn their own incomes, gain access to education and employment, and providing emotional and legal services when needed. KHRP is privileged to work with these groups, and is highlighting their work today because it is through such partnerships, that it is possible to make the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) enforceable in the Kurdish regions, and to make the Committee’s work practicable.

‘The men and women in the Kurdish regions advocating women’s rights are my stalwarts of hope. They know that women’s rights are human rights and that confronting abuses is integral to attaining thriving healthy and democratic communities’, said KHRP Managing Director, Rachel Bernu. ‘The brave women we have represented at the European Court of Human Rights and at the UN have been pioneers who have used their personal tragedies to serve as moments for change in order to prevent future abuses and to work towards real implementation of CEDAW. As the Committee begins deliberations today, KHRP wants to highlight the invaluable work of local NGOs which makes the provisions of the Convention tangible and practicable for everyone.’