Sarwa Abdel Wahid
From journalist and teacher to the highest office of the land: Sarwa Abdel Wahid has officially announced her candidacy for the post of President of the Republic of Iraq.
This action followed a statement that was originally made to RT where Abdel Wahid said, "I will announce my candidacy for the post of President of the Republic on Sunday in order to take the first step to break the base of quotas and the distribution of posts on the basis of my components."
Abdel Wahid will be running this political race against a roaster of all-male opponents and she has also decided to run independently of any political party. Abdel Wahid’s goal is to build a single homeland that embraces all Iraqis, of whom she says have endured much suffering during the past two decades. She also intends to address the concerns of everyone, no matter his or her political affiliation and has stressed that the “faith in the Constitution begins with the application of equality and justice for all Iraqis – without exception.”
How did she arrive at this point? Well, some would say it was a long time coming. Sarwa Abdel Wahid was born in Sulaymaniyah in 1972 and she obtained a degree in Arabic Literature from the University of Baghdad in 1993. She then worked as a journalist in a number of local media institutions and switched careers to work as a teacher, which she did until 1998.
Yet, Abdel Wahid was driven to do even more for her country. She hence decided to join the Relations Office in the Council of Ministers of Sulaymaniyah. She spent years working as an activist in defending women’s rights and, later, was also awarded the membership of the parliamentary Arab women network.
She became a member of the Council of Representatives for the Erbil governorate and headed the Parliamentary Change Bloc. Abdel Wahid had previously lamented that for 15 years, this position has been the monopoly of the two main Kurdish parties that have not given any chance to other Kurdish powers or women to take over the post.
During her parliamentary work, Abdel Wahid participated in several seminars in the U.S. that addressed the impact of the negative referendum on the social, economic and political realities for the Kurdish people. Politically, she has held several strong convictions regarding the political conditions, especially in the Kurdistan Region. She has, for example, announced her clear position in disagreement with the independence referendum on the Kurdistan region of Iraq, which took place in September last year.
Abdel Wahid is to-date the third person to announce their candidacy for the Iraqi presidency, along with Barham Saleh, who was nominated by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and Sardar Abdullah, a member of the Change Bloc, who introduced himself as an independent candidate as well.
Abdel Wahid has her eye on the prize – but she is also acutely aware of the symbolism of her candidacy as she highlighted that she hopes to be able to achieve her “goal of becoming the first woman” in the position of President of Iraq.
