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

The UNAMI Office of Electoral Assistance (OEA) field office advisors in Mosul recently organized and facilitated a workshop “Gender mainstreaming in elections” for Independent High Election Commission (IHEC) staff in Mosul, Ninewa Governorate. The workshop covered several important topics of gender in elections including equality, equity and gender in general, electoral legislation, gender quota and violence committed against women in elections, amongst others.  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 Governorate Election Offices' (GEO) staff to analyse electoral processes and elections from a gender perspective.  Participants discussed and recommended the importance for UNAMI to engage the political parties and organize workshops to present gender in context of the legal framework. Workshop hosted total of twelve participants of which three were women. IHEC GEO staff included plethora of staff with GEO Manager, heads of training unit and media units, political party affairs division staff in presence.