Project Case Study
Helping women help women: evaluating the ‘Building Women’s Movements in Iraq’ programme
Providing world class expertise to strengthen and provide recommendations for delivering even better outcomes
Iraq suffered greatly during the regime of Saddam Hussein, and in the years since the fall of his regime in 2003. Women in Iraq have borne much of the impact of conflict; tens of thousands of new widows and female-headed households are seeing increasing violence, restrictions and social, economic and political exclusion.
The Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) has been working to address the specific needs of women in Iraq; part of their approach has been supporting the programme Kvinna till Kvinna (Woman to Woman) as they build movements promoting women’s issues in Iraq. Kvinna till Kvinna was founded in 1993 as a movement that offered support to women affected by the Yugoslav wars, and has since widened its interventions across various conflict zones.
In late 2013, we were contracted by Sida to undertake a mid-term evaluation of the Kvinna till Kvinna programme, based on our experience of working in gender and social inclusion, and our experience throughout Iraq.
The evaluation was undertaken in close coordination with Sida and Kvinna till Kvinna and drew on the thoughts and perceptions of a wide range of stakeholders, from senior Iraqi government officials, to the women who receive the support delivered by the programmes. Our team visited Iraq to gather the necessary information and drew on their own extensive experience to give further depth to the analysis and recommendations.
The findings on how to strengthen programme support for women’s movements for the long-term have been warmly received. They have already begun a process of change that will enhance the lives of many thousands of Iraqi women for years to come, and are also informing better programming across the Middle East through Kvinna till Kvinna and Sida.
We are convinced that the report will help us and Kvinna till Kvinna to develop and enhance the support to women's movements in Iraq. The process has already provided a lot of opportunities for learning in Iraq and in Sweden.
Helena Bådagård, Programme Manager – Iraq, Sida, February 2014
