Project profile — Supporting the Participation of Women's Advisory Boards in Local Governance

The project aims to enhance the role of women in local governance, transform the way local councils interact with women, and improve local government’s responsiveness to key issues identified by women advocates in five areas of Iraq that were retaken from or are vulnerable to Daesh. The project aims to create and support five women’s advisory boards in Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa and Salahaddin. Through these advisory boards and local councils, women elaborate development plans that include community interests and prioritize the safe inclusion of women and girls. Project activities include: (1) empowering women to influence local decision-making by supplying them with research on community priorities; (2) building their organizing and advocacy skills; and (3) making financial resources available to women for local development projects.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) an increased role for women in building trust between local government and communities in areas retaken from Daesh; and (2) enhanced cooperation between women activists and local government to respond to community needs.

Results achieved at the end of the project (December 2022) include: (1) established five Women’s Advisory Boards (WABs) to help build trust between local governments and the communities they represent. The WABs met with local government officials many times to explain the project’s objectives. They trained them to consult effectively with their communities. This led to 217 officials supporting the work of the WABs network. For example, in Kirkuk, citizens were skeptical about COVID-19 information disseminated by local authorities and did not follow the required safety measures. The Kirkuk WAB designed a community advocacy campaign to help raise awareness about COVID-19 information safety measures and organized an in-person public meeting between local government representatives and citizens to address questions and build trust between both groups. This resulted in citizens taking official COVID-19 health and safety measures more seriously; and (2) established strong relationships between the WABs and all levels of government, including Provincial Councils (PCs), governors and mayors. This helped the project work seamlessly when they suspended the PCs in 2019. The WABs worked on 21 local initiatives and conducted 189 community outreach events with local officials over the project`s duration. Many local development initiatives dealt with girls' access to education, which had deteriorated during the conflict with Daesh and also impacted by COVID-19. 21 local officials continued to support the WABs work after the project ended and locally maintained its benefits.