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Dear
conference participants,
I would like to begin to thank you for this
initiative.
In Kurdistan, we are heading toward major changes in
all aspect of our life. Women’s issues will be a
considerable part of these changes.
Our major task will be to which degree we prepare
ourselves for these ensuing changes.
As a Prime Minister of Kurdistan Regional
Government, I think we should prepare ourselves
thoroughly for these changes.I do not think that our
future success is in the hands of one, two or three
individuals. Our success will depend on how we
exploit our national capabilities, how we co-operate
with each other, for what purpose and in the service
of which national and common interests. Now we are
heading towards a period which we previously only
could dream about.
In the past decades of our political life, political
decisions effecting our survival or death,
reconstruction or destruction (of our country), and
forgiving us or sending us to exile were taken by
our occupiers. Our women suffered most in facing
difficulties, fleeing, having great burdens,
distress and sorrow. Now we are in the beginning of
a phase in which Kurdish and Kurdistani forces will
have direct responsibility for political decisions.
In the years to come, all in Kurdistan – Kurdistan
Regional Government, political forces and the
society in Kurdistan – will need to think along new
lines. We need a new thinking that will correspond
to our contemporary situation, possible to
implement, can stand multiple challenges and at the
same is most beneficial for Kurdistan’s women. We
need a thinking that is far from extremism; a
thinking that does not simultaneously attack
everyone.
I think we should approach in a scientific manner to
investigate the reasons behind the backwardness of
women in Kurdistani society in order to know which
factors affect negatively on women’s political,
social and economic situation in Kurdistan. If
decision-makers in Kurdistan acquire adequate
knowledge and expertise on the operating factors,
formulating comprehensive political and
administrative reform will be more secured because
Kurdistan will have its own economic resources in
the coming years. Then it will the duty of the
government, its institutions and its officials to
prepare programmes for the cities, villages,
children, young generation, active women with clear
will to shape their own future and the future of
their family, retired, handicapped, and for the
family of our martyrs.
In such a process, I believe, neither the
government, the political and social forces in
Kurdistan, the women’s organisations nor those
democratic forces who extend their support to
Kurdistan can run away from their responsibilities.
We believe that identifying the difficulties is the
first step in this complicated process. We need to
have clear conceptions before embarking on such a
crucial work. We need to know how, in what phase,
and in co-operation with which forces we can take a
particular step that lead us to a desired result.
We must learn how to proceed to increase the
percentage of women in decision-making positions;
how to change our laws in ways that correspond to
our new conditions to democratise Kurdistan; how to
strengthen the position of women within the family,
in her decision related to education, marriage,
child-birth, and political, economic and social
activities. We would like to have clear ideas about
which concrete steps are needed against
marginalisation of women in Kurdistan; how to
formulate feasible programmes to implement positive
changes in political, legal and administrative life
on daily basis. We need to identify the potential of
women in Kurdistan in every aspect of life, in order
to use it and prepare feasible conditions for it.
For these, and many other activities, women’s
organisations in Kurdistan do not need to learn
positive and negative lessons only from our
neighbours. Countries far from us can facilitate our
task. For that reason, we are glad for your decision
to gather women from inside and outside Kurdistan in
a country like Sweden.
In our delicate time in Kurdistan, we have many
expectations from a work like this conference.
Through your work and activities, we would like to
reach decisions that could strengthen women’s
rights, human rights, freedom of expression,
co-operation, legal reforms, strengthening the
courts and the constitution, as well as the police
without extremism and ideological fighting.
In our delicate stage we should not forget that we
in Kurdistan will face major difficulties in the
months to come with those political forces coming to
power for the first time. If we do not act
consciously, if we do not co-ordinate our efforts
and if we do not ensure that our acts are backed by
an overwhelming majority of the people in Kurdistan,
we might risk losing a greater part of our gains. At
this stage, we must encourage those democratic
forces that support our hard struggle not to forget
us; not to ignore us in our urgent work; not to stop
hearing us when we raise our voice asking for their
support; and not to close their eyes when they see
us fleeing. I am saying all this because we all have
witnessed these kinds of acts in our life time. The
greatest dream of Kurdistan and the Kurds is not to
witness similar acts again. Our major task should be
that we, together, in agreement, collectively and
with the support of democratic forces reconstruct
Kurdistan in a way we all should be proud of; in a
way the women in Kurdistan can, without any fear,
proudly play their due role. Our immediate
expectation should be to organise another conference
in a few years in Kurdistan to find out what we have
done; how much we have co-operated with each other;
how many issues of our equality reform programme
have been implemented; and which democratic forces
from outside and within Kurdistan have effectively
participated.
At the end, I wish you success once again and would
like to renew my personal and my government’s
support for this important work. Your success
in this earnest work will clearly contribute to the
work of Kurdistan Regional Government to lay a
proper and new policy what will be in harmony with
Kurdistan and our contemporary life, because issues
of women are like environmental issues, they do not
recognize borders and boundaries. Finding feasible
solutions to women’s issues in Kurdistan will demand
crossing borders and boundaries. I hope that your
work is the beginning of that border and boundary
crossing that would lead to a proper and feasible
policy.
www.krg.org
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