The Center for Women’s Studies at the University of Baghdad issued recently a booklet entitled “The electoral system in Iraq and its impact on women’s political participation” authored by the head of the department of empowerment of women, Dr. Asma Jameel Rasheed. The aim of the booklet is to help women candidates in understanding the components of the electoral system, its advantages & disadvantages to provide ways in which women can expand their representation in the legislative institution.
This handbook relied on the results of the advisory workshop held by the center with the support of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (also known as UN Women) on 18 July 2020 on assessing the legal environment and analyzing its impact on women’s political representation, which brought together experts from Iraq in election affairs, as well as four interviews with specialists and a review of documents and regulations issued by the Independent High Electoral Commission. The director of the center, Assist. Prof. Dr. Athraa Ismail Zaidan, stated that such initiatives come on the sidelines of the center’s activities for the implementation of the national plan for supporting political participation in the elections of the House of Representatives, adding that this edition is a practical tool that can provide a useful picture of the components of the electoral system adopted lately this year.
