Layla Mohammed Amin, NOC Iraq Board Member and Chair of the Gender Equality Committee, met with Sardar Ismail, Director General of Sports for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, to consolidate the growing cooperation between NOC Iraq and the area which is located in Asia Minor, north of the Middle East and south of Transcaucasia.
With the stated goal of promoting gender equality in sport, Ms Amin conveyed the greetings of the President of NOC Iraq, Dr Aqeel Muften, and reiterated the importance of strengthening relations between the central government and the Kurdistan Region in the field of sport.
This cooperation will focus on empowering women in Iraq to participate in the sport of their choice, in line with the broader objectives of the Olympic Council of Asia and the International Olympic Committee.
As an important step, both parties agreed to organise a women’s sports festival in the governorate of Erbil, the most populous city in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The event will take place in April this year and is expected to become an annual tradition, not only to celebrate female athletes, but also to motivate them to actively participate in various sports.
The festival aims to provide a platform for women to practice the sport of their choice, while reinforcing NOC Iraq’s commitment to gender equality in the country’s sporting landscape.
The director general of sports for Kurdistan also took the opportunity to present an overview of the region’s sports infrastructure and how it can contribute to the development of young athletes across Iraq. This collaboration is seen as a crucial step in ensuring that the country’s future athletes, particularly women, receive the support and motivation they need to excel both nationally and internationally.
The meeting was also attended by key figures from NOC Iraq, including Ishtar Ali, Advisor to the President, and several female representatives from local sports clubs. It hopes to mark an important milestone in expanding opportunities for women in sport and promoting a culture of equality. Women’s participation in sport in Iraq has historically been significantly lower than men’s.
Despite progress in the Kurdistan region, where women enjoy a slightly more inclusive environment, they continue to face significant barriers due to restrictive cultural and religious norms. Initiatives such as the annual women’s sports festival in Erbil hope to not ony reflect change but also inspire more women to overcome them by providing a platform for them to showcase their talents.
