Shelters for Women in Iraq

As MADRE’s partnership with OWFI continues through the Safe Shelters project, we are grateful to share just some of the meaningful activism you uplifted in 2022. 

• During the first six months of the year, OWFI welcomed 29 survivors of human trafficking and gender-based violence into their shelters. Since then, OWFI has continued to enhance physical safety and access to support and reintegration services for survivors and those at risk of gender-based violence. 

• OWFI focused on redressing discrimination experienced by Iraq’s Black community by raising anti-racist awareness among women, men, and youth and supporting leadership and advancement opportunities for Afro-Iraqis, particularly women. OWFI held a conference at its headquarters in March, bringing together academics, activists, and civil society leaders within the Black community. For many in attendance, the conferences were their first opportunity to learn about and discuss racial discrimination. OWFI facilitated discussion and debate among Afro-Iraqis to identify shared priorities and demands for policy change.

OWFI continued its successful efforts to receive survivors of gender-based violence in their shelters, meeting immediate needs and reintegrating survivors into their communities. This vital work was life-sustaining for many women and girls in 2022 and will be for years to come.

Thank you for your generosity and for being part of a global network of feminist activists coming together across distance and difference for a world that promises justice for all people; including women and girls in Iraq. We appreciate you for being an essential part of this movement.