UN calls for better future for Iraqi women

BAGHDAD, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations in Iraq Friday called for better future for Iraqi Women to ensure their dignity and freedom, as the Iraqi Women suffer from displacement and violence.

A joint statement by UN Women Iraq, a UN entity working for the empowerment of Iraqi Women, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), asserted that "Women in Iraq and across the world are entitled to live in dignity, in freedom and without discrimination."

"Women in Iraq have suffered from major psychological and emotional consequences due to the continuous displacement, the traumatic events and the violence caused by the protracted crises, threatening their ability to build a better future for themselves, their families and their communities," said the statement issued on the International Women's Day.

"The United Nations estimates that there are 3.3 million Women and girls in need of humanitarian assistance in 2019 across the country," the statement said.

Both UN and UNFPA called upon the federal government of Iraq and the government of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan to "invest further in the great potential of the Women in Iraq to boost economic and social development of the country."

"UN Women and UNFPA renew their commitment to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of Women in the areas of social protection and access to public services across the country," the statement said.

Years of war, sanctions and corruption have weighed heavily on Women in Iraq. Hundreds of thousands were killed or widowed in multiple waves of violence, while others remain stranded in refugee camps across the country.

However, the security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist Islamic State (IS) militants across the country late in 2017, but the cycle of violence has not stopped completely as groups of IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out guerilla attacks from time to time against the security forces and civilians.