KRG Highlights Advances in Women’s Rights at 92nd CEDAW Session
On Wednesday, 4 February 2026, the 92nd session of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was held at the United Nations Office at Geneva, with the participation of a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
At the opening of the session, Dinar Zebari, the KRG’s Coordinator for International Advocacy, presented progress on combating discrimination and domestic violence, supported by data on the implementation of international recommendations. According to the KRG’s Human Rights Plan (2021–2025), implementation rates increased from 42.8% in 2022 to 51.9% in 2023, reaching 62.3% during 2024–2025. Implementation stood at 87.5% within the executive branch, 78.9% within the judicial branch, and 40.5% within the legislative branch, while women’s rights–related recommendations recorded an implementation rate of 35%.
The report highlighted women’s participation in leadership and decision-making, noting that women currently hold the positions of Speaker of Parliament, three ministerial posts, and one governorship. Women account for 26.2% of judges and Public Prosecutors, including 27.8% of prosecutors, while female judicial assistants represent 67%.
Legislative measures, including the 30% quota system, have resulted in the election of 147 female Members of Parliament across successive terms, 65 of whom chaired permanent committees. A high-level committee was also established, in coordination with the High Council of Women and Development and relevant ministries, to protect female candidates from defamation and harassment during election campaigns.
Economic empowerment initiatives between 2022 and 2025 included the registration of 239 women in the Chamber of Commerce and the provision of loans exceeding IQD 9.5 billion to 1,198 female farmers, creating 3,873 job opportunities. In 2024, the 119 hotline received 12,274 violence-related complaints, with 1,532 cases resolved through family reconciliation and 99 complaints registered with the Directorate for Combating Electronic Crimes. Five shelters for women at risk currently serve over 900 women annually, with 5,530 women benefiting between 2019 and 2025.
Courts reviewed 313 cases of underage and forced marriage, while multidisciplinary teams operating in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps implemented preventive and protective measures, with the Public Prosecution initiating legal proceedings against violators. Awareness campaigns on female genital mutilation (FGM) contributed to a 60% reduction in reported cases, alongside direct support to 5,000 women from vulnerable groups.
Girls represent 48% of enrolled students, totalling more than 872,000 learners. In the media sector, 1,600 female journalists are registered and 192 women’s organisations are active. Women’s participation in the security sector includes 1,261 women serving in the Peshmerga forces—132 of them officers involved in specialised counter-terrorism operations—and a 15% increase in women’s participation in the police force since 2021.
Finally, regarding abducted Yazidis and the KRG’s recognition of ISIS crimes as genocide, data indicate that 3,593 individuals have been rescued, including 2,290 women.