Community Change Workshops

Lead. Teach. Inspire.

To effectively combat violence against women, it is not enough for women to be the only actors. Change must come from everyone and men must play an equally prominent role. Both men and women work together to teach the young and the old about human rights and rejection of violence.

Dr. Sami Hussein, the Duhok Governorate Commander of the Directorate of Combating Violence Against Women, shared:

“We are fighting against tradition and old minds. People don’t understand human rights, women’s rights, and the rights of the child. We need more years to see greater change. While it is important to change laws, it is much more difficult to change communities, especially when they don’t accept legal change. Start teaching children these things young and all the way through school, in order to change these minds and traditions.”¹

¹Bak Schulten, Erika and Shawkat Almahmada, Shilan. “No Peace without Peace for Women.” Finding Peace in Iraq, Volume 2. Ed. Munoz and Hill. New York: Center for Global Affairs, 2014. 71. Print.