“Working as individuals to achieve peace is not enough to face the challenges. The chances of success increase greatly when we work together, men and women, as a team that shares the burdens, risks and responsibilities.”

Zahraa Ali Hassan, 25 years old, is an unmarried young woman who graduated from a health institute and currently works in the medical field. Zahraa lives with her family in Diwaniyah Governorate. In addition to her job, Zahraa works as a volunteer in the humanitarian and community field. Zahraa feels that she has a lot to offer to serve the community, especially in light of the societal conditions, traditions and norms prevailing in the society in which she lives. Therefore, Zahraa finds that her participation in the project “Standard Operating Procedures in the Field of Conflict Prevention, Response and Communicating with Local Communities According to Women’s Participation in the Southern Region”, which is implemented by Awan Organization for Awareness and Capacity Development, has helped her a lot in developing her ideas and inspired her to be more innovative and creative in enhancing her communication with the local community as an activist and volunteer. Through this project, Zahraa participated in training workshops on Resolution 1325, negotiation, mediation and leadership, which developed her capabilities in the field of participation in peace initiatives and leadership. Zahraa finds that these workshops are very important in empowering young women to be active in managing public affairs in their communities. And their integration into various community activities, especially priority issues in society such as conflicts and climate change. After the training, Zahraa found that she should have a role with her fellow volunteers in building peace and combating extremism in her community, so she took the initiative to form her women’s volunteer team (Initiatives for Peace), which aims to work on implementing various awareness-raising youth activities for women to promote the concepts of peace and its importance in achieving development and prosperity for society. Zahraa implemented her first activities within her women’s volunteer team to promote health awareness among the community and in coordination with the Health Promotion Division in the Diwaniyah Health Department to respond to the expected health crisis by distributing health brochures and organizing short awareness sessions on the dangers of monkeypox. Zahraa says, “Working as individuals to achieve peace is not enough to face challenges. The chances of success increase greatly when we work together, men and women, as a team that shares the burdens, risks and responsibilities.”

The organization’s participation in the training workshop within the CAFI program

A training workshop for media institutions on Resolution 1325 and the women, security and peace agenda from the media perspective

The first dialogue forum to discuss the importance of combating violence within the family