UNAMI Office of Electoral Assistance holds workshop on gender mainstreaming in election process for the Independent High Election Commission staff

The UNAMI Office of Electoral Assistance Field Office advisors recently organized and facilitated a two-day workshop titled ‘Gender mainstreaming in elections’ for the Independent High Election Commission (IHEC) staff in Erbil, Duhok and Sulaymaniyah Governorate Election Offices (GEOs). The workshop was held in Erbil from 1 - 2 August and covered several important topics on gender in elections including equality, equity and gender in general, electoral legislation, gender quota and violence committed against women in elections.   Through this training, participants gained knowledge and understanding on the experiences of men and women in the electoral process, emphasizing the importance of women's participation in electoral processes and democracy building, providing the tools for the GEOs’ staff to analyse electoral processes and elections from the gender perspective. Workshop hosted total of 16 participants of which six were female staff.  The IHEC GEO staff included GEO managers, heads of training units and public outreach staff. In addition, five Field Coordination Officers from IHEC HQ and two from the Kurdistan Regional Electoral Office (KREO) attended the training.