Outspoken Iraqi politician commends KRG on appointment of female ministers

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An outspoken Iraqi politician who has often criticized the Kurdistan Region has commended the autonomous Kurdish government for its appointment of three female ministers in its newly-formed cabinet.

Hanan Al Fatlawi, a longtime vocal supporter of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and now founder and leader of the Eradaa (Will) Movement, expressed a rare positive view toward the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Her party currently has three representatives in the new Iraqi Parliament.

Fatlawi has long criticized the autonomous region, comments Kurdish officials have often described as arousing nationalism and discord. She has also made repeated comments for years which critics charge are openly disparaging of Sunni Muslim Iraqis.  

In a tweet on Wednesday, the former deputy in the Iraqi Parliament described the KRG as having demonstrated “fairness” with the appointment of the female ministers.

“Despite my disagreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government, what is calculated for them is the fairness of women in the new regional government with the nomination of three female ministers,” Fatlawi wrote on her Twitter account.

The new KRG cabinet includes 22 ministerial posts, three of them taken by women: Kwestan Mohammad (Gorran) was appointed Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Begard Dilshad (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) was handed the post of Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, while Vala Fareed Ibrahim (Kurdistan Democratic Party) is a Region Minister.

Ibrahim was a temporary speaker of parliament and will be replaced by another representative from the PUK, according to a power-sharing agreement in the region. 

The number of female ministers has gone up by two new members in the new KRG cabinet, from only one in the previous administration. 

Editing by John J. Catherine