Raz Xaidan Artist Raz Xaidan is a Multi-disciplinary Artist and Photographer that works under the name of The Darling Beast. Raz’s roots delve deep into the soils of Kurdistan where her photography and digital art resonate with themes of feminism, identity, culture, mental health, and resistance. A consistent influence and muse for [...]

Sherizaan Minwalla Human Rights Lawyer Sherizaan Minwalla is a human rights lawyer who has represented refugees, asylum seekers and immigrant survivors of gender-based violence to achieve legal protection in the US, and for over a decade has addressed women’s rights and the rule of law in Iraq. Living in Kurdistan, Sherizaan [...]

Dr. Khanzad Ahmad Secretary General of the High Council of Women’s Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government -Iraq. Dr. Khanzad Ahmad is the Secretary General of the High Council of Women’s Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government -Iraq. Dr. Khanzad is also the director of the directorate of coordination and Public Affairs [...]

Pakhshan Kakawais Country Director for Internews Iraq office. Pakhshan Kakawais, was born and educated in Kirkuk, before moving to Erbil to attain her Bachelor's degree from Salahaddin University, and is currently studying for an MA in the politics of conflict and violence. Pakhsan started her career at Save the Children/UK in 1996, [...]

Kurdo Omar Director General- Directorate of Combating Violence Against Women and Families Kurdo Omar Abdullah was born in Koya in 1969. She was a political prisoner of Saddam’s regime in the 1980s. From the 1990s onwards she worked in many women's organizations and became the Mayor of Koya in 2004. She has [...]

Sherri Kraham Talabany President and Executive Director - SEED Foundation Sherri Kraham Talabany is the President Co-Founder of SEED Foundation. SEED’s mission is to support survivors of violence and those at risk through comprehensive mental health and psychosocial support services, training and capacity building, strengthening laws, policies, and practices, and combating [...]

H.E Klemens Semtner German Consul General - Erbil Klemens Semtner, currently Consul General in Erbil. Born 1966 in Berlin, married. Studied Journalism and Political Science and worked as radio and TV journalist for several years. Joined German Foreign Office in 1996 and has, since then, filled posts in Berlin, Athens, Ankara, Istanbul [...]

H.E Kwestan Mohamad Abdulla Maarouf Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Kwestan was born in 1965 in Sulaymaniyah, she is married with two sons. She has been active in Kurdish politics since the 1980s, at one point in 1990 going into hiding from Saddam’s regime until after the uprising.  After the [...]

Ava Nadir Artist Ava Nadir is an Iraqi artist based in Kurdistan, known for her provocative and controversial pieces and subjects mostly related to women under war and fear, and women’s rights between culture and religion. Having lived most of her life under war, her inspiration comes from her life experiences as [...]

H.E. James Thornton British Consul Genera - Erbil “Any society loses out if it doesn’t harness the talents of all, including women, to the full.”