Attachments: Advisory Nesreen Barwari & Mishkat Al Moumin 3.1.06.doc
WUNRN
THE INITIATIVE FOR
INCLUSIVE SECURITY
For Immediate
Release
March 16, 2006
Contact:
Katie Elbert
Iraqi Ministers Nesreen
Barwari and Mishkat Al Moumin:
Women Leading the Efforts to Construct a New Democracy
This Weekend Marks the 3 Year Anniversary of
the Start of the Iraq War
CAMBRIDGE, MA — Two members of The Initiative for Inclusive
Security’s Women Waging Peace Network are visiting fellows at Harvard University
and are available to speak with the media about the key roles they are playing
in rebuilding Iraq. Nesreen M. Sideek Barwari, the Minister for
Municipalities and Public Works, Iraq’s largest ministry with 42,000
employees in 275 offices spread across the country, and Mishkat Al
Moumin, the former Minister of the Environment in the interim Iraqi
government, are available to comment on the developing government, the status of
current reconstruction efforts, transitional politics in Iraq, security issues,
and the important role women play in reconstruction efforts, particularly as it
pertains to protecting women’s rights in Iraq’s new legal framework.
To take advantage of this
exceptional opportunity to develop relationships with important women leaders
who can assist you in evaluating legal, political, security, and humanitarian
issues in Iraq, and to arrange an interview with Ms. Nesreen Barwari and Dr.
Mishkat Al Moumin, please contact Katie Elbert at 617-995-1925 or by email at
Katie_Elbert@huntalternatives.org.
- Nesreen Barwari was born in Baghdad –
as a member of the minority Kurdish community – one year before Saddam took
power in Iraq in 1968. When she was 14-years old, she was detained by
Iraqi soldiers along with her mother, father, and five of her brothers in one
of Saddam’s political prisons for one year. At 24, following the failed
Kurdish uprising after the first Gulf war, she fled to Iraq’s Turkish border
for several months before returning to Baghdad to finish her education.
In 2003, Nesreen Barwari was the sole woman in the 25-member ministry
appointed by the Coalition Provisional Authority and under the guidance of the
Iraqi Governing Council. She is leading the renovation of ministry
facilities that have suffered from 35 years of neglect and has taken a lead
role in restoring essential public services such as drinking water,
environmental sanitation services, and providing urban planning and
development. Ms. Barwari gained her undergraduate degree from Baghdad
University. Her graduate studies were completed at Harvard’s Kennedy
School of Government. She is currently a visiting scholar at the Institute of
Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
University.
- The former minister of the environment in the
interim Iraqi government, Mishkat Al Moumin is a well-known Iraqi
lawyer, specializing in human rights. Since Iraq did not previously have
a ministry of the environment, Dr. Al Moumin designed its entire structure.
In this post, she also developed new environmental law, led campaigns to
support Iraqi people living in environmentally dangerous areas, and initiated
awareness and cleaning projects. Prior to joining the government, she
served as the women’s issues director for the Free Iraq Foundation where she
successfully advocated for women to hold 25 percent of the seats in the new
Iraqi parliament. In this role, she also conducted trainings for NGOs
and women leaders. She is founder and director of the Women and
Environment Organization in Iraq. She is currently a fellow at the
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University earning a master’s degree
in public policy, with a focus on women, development, and human rights.
She already has an MA and PhD in public international law from the
University of Baghdad.
The Initiative for
Inclusive Security, a program of Hunt Alternatives Fund, advocates for the
full participation of all stakeholders, especially women, in peace processes.
Creating sustainable peace is achieved best by a diverse, citizen-driven
approach. Of the many sectors of society currently excluded from peace
processes, none is larger—or more critical to success—than women. Since
1999, Inclusive Security has connected more than 400 women experts with over
3,000 policy shapers to collaborate on fresh, workable solutions to
long-standing conflicts across the globe. For more information visit http://www.womenwagingpeace.net/
###
------------------------------------------
Katie
Elbert
Media Relations Officer
Hunt Alternatives Fund
625 Mt. Auburn
St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Ph: 617.995.1925
Cell:
617.803.5755
Fax: 617.995.1982
http://www.huntalternatives.org/
================================================================
To
leave the list, send your request by email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.