33 years on: Kurdish women mark rising voice in Regional Parliament

Shafaq News/ On the 33rd anniversary of the Kurdistan Region’s first parliamentary elections in 1992, the Region celebrates a significant milestone in women’s political representation.

From just six female MPs in the inaugural session, the number of women who have served in parliament over six legislative terms has reached 178.

According to Suroor Abdulrahman, head of the Pay Institute for Education and Development, the initial election did not allocate quota seats for women. Only six women won seats — four from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and two from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), with two more joining later due to resignations, bringing the total to eight.

Subsequent parliaments included 44 women in the third term (2009–2012), 33 in both the fourth (2013–2018) and fifth (2018–2023) terms, and 31 in the sixth (2023–present).

A turning point came in 2005, during the second parliamentary term, when the 1992 Law No. 1 was activated to enforce a 30% gender quota, significantly boosting female representation. That term saw 29 women elected.

The KDP accounted for the highest number of the total of 178 female MPs with 63 members, followed by the PUK (44), Gorran (23), the Kurdistan Islamic Union (13), the Justice Group (8), the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian list (8), the Turkmen component (6), New Generation Movement (5), the Kurdistan Communist Party (2), the Kurdistan Socialist Party (2), the Mawqif Movement (2), Barei Gel list (1), and the Kurdistan Islamic Movement (1).

Despite this numeric growth, Abdulrahman emphasized that true gender empowerment remains limited. “Some parties treat the quota as a political tool rather than fostering genuine participation,” he said.