Baghdad, Iraq– Dr. Faiza Babakhan, a member of the Women’s Democracy Network (WDN), shows how the tenacity of one woman can change the lives of a whole country of women.  A prominent women’s rights advocate and lawyer, Babakhana devotes her work to defending the rights of Iraqi women. 

In 2005, Babakhan was elected to Iraq’s Council of Representatives.  During her term, she worked alongsideMrs. Narmin Othman, Minister for Women Affairs, to pass legislation which would improve the rights of women in Iraq.  After tireless advocacy, the amendment was passed in the Kurdistan region in 2008 under the Personal Status Law which defined the roles of women within marriage.  The law prohibits a man from marrying more than one woman unless authorized by a judge, and further empowers women by stating that the first wife must consent before the court would allow the man to marry a second wife.  The law also allows women to file for divorce from their husbands, which was previously prohibited, and requires men to pay alimony to their estranged wives provided that the wife did not breach any marital obligations stated in the law.  These new legal provisions help raise the status of women in Iraqi society to one of equality with men in their marriages.

During her term in office, Babakhan, also served as a legal advisor and trainer for the Human Rights Ministry where she worked to educate government officials in other ministries on the provisions of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Convention which Iraq ratified in 1986, and how this convention impacts women’s rights in the country.

In 2008, Babakhan (first row, fifth from left) began volunteering as a professor for the Leadership Project at the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University College of Law where she trained women law students throughout Iraq.  She also works to organize the Iraqi Legal Women’s Organization, which she hopes will unite women lawyers to work together to address women’s issues in their country. 

A noted author, she is currently writing her next book entitled True Legal Women’s Stories which will reveal the suffering women have experienced and the importance of educating women to their legal rights.  Babakhanis also frequently asked to represent the women’s perspective in television interviews Al Hurriaa TV and Ashour TV.

Babakhan has been noted internationally for her advocacy.  In July 2011, at the 10^th Anniversary of the Community of Democracies meeting in Poland, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remarked, “that even in the most challenging environments, civil society can help improve lives and empower citizens.”  

Clinton then personally recognized Babakhan saying, “I would just like to thank you for your courage and your willingness to be here.”

Babakhanhas has participated in numerous WDN conferences and serves as a mentor to its global network of members.  Hertireless commitment to empowering the women of Iraq is truly remarkable.  Today she continues to advocate that the “Iraqi Woman [must] consider that education is her weapon to face the society that shapes her limited role.  [She must] recapture her rights.”