ARBIL, Iraq: Rewaz Faiq is only one of two girls functioning as parliament speaker at the Middle East, in which politics is still a man’s world, however the Iraqi Kurdish mom of 2 is unfazed.
Known for the straight talk, Faiq understood she’d confront challenges when she had been chosen in 2019 into the article at the autonomous Kurdish area of northern Iraq.
“Back in Kurdistan, entering politics isn’t easy for ladies,” Faiq, 43, told AFP, citing”male domination, discrimination and sexual abuse” because the key hurdles.
“When a girl isn’t robust and doesn’t shield himself, she is going to be entrapped from the political and personal benefits of male economists,” she explained.
Men supported by strong tribes play a powerful role both in private and public life in the area, where over eight out of 10 girls are housewives.
Male politicians have been viewed as more powerful than girls in Kurdish society as they’ve armed bodyguards, lots of cash and the aid of social media, stated Faiq.
And they’re from the eye, unlike girls that are prohibited from participating in tribal councils where crucial decisions impacting the Muslim-majority, conservative society have been accepted.
Avan Jaff, a women’s rights activist, stated Faiq informs her of Pakistan’s late night Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to head a government within an Muslim-majority nation.
Faiq”includes self-confidence, charisma and can be a real leader.
She’s altered the understanding of politics in Kurdistan and has been providing hope to all girls,” explained Jaff.
And she’s”powerful”.
If a legislator threw a shoe in Faiq through a session broadcast live on television in March, the speaker”didn’t become angry or shed control for another”, stated Jaff.
Rather Faiq shot telling the MP:”In case you’re pitching this shoe , I forgive you, but in case you’re throwing it in parliament, then I won’t forgive you” Faiq, wore the veil and vibrant flowing Kurdish gowns, holds a masters degree in law and a doctorate in law.
She entered politics in age 15, linking the party after her village had been destroyed by the regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
A year after, she changed her allegiance and joined the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and was elected to parliament at 2013.
Now there’s one other girl parliament speaker at the Middle East — Fawzia Zainal that had been chosen head of Bahrain’s national gathering in 2018.
Late Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, creator of the PUK where his spouse Hero has played an integral part,”really considered in girls and their skills” in politics, Faiq stated.
“Regrettably, there are far fewer female politicians currently from the PUK than beneath Talabani, though the society is much more open and conducive to the involvement of women from politics” She disclosed that her non-conformist perspectives have resulted in her isolation in her party.
“I’ve felt over the last year and a half,” explained Faiq, including that she’s been lambasted on interpersonal websites by PUK statistics.
“Initially this frightened me and it had been tough.
However, now it’s made he more powerful,” she explained.
Throughout her period, parliament has passed numerous laws such as ones against petroleum and drug smuggling — just two of the key scourges confronting Kurdistan.
But Doctor Murad Abdullah stated parliament isn’t doing enough to improve living conditions in Kurdistan, that is often rocked by protests against cost of living increases and corruption.
“Each month that the government cuts the wages of workers and thus far we’ve not seen that the speaker parliament question such steps,” he explained.