Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Mashreq Countries - Iraq Program: A Legal Review and Technical Cooperation to Catalyze Women’s Economic Opportunities and Access to Agricultural Land Tenure

Project Description: Implemented by the Investigator Organization for the Rule of Law (IOL) in partnership with the World Bank Group (Mashreq Program), this project conducted a technical legal assessment to expand women's economic participation, private-sector inclusion, and agricultural land tenure rights across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Operations included an exhaustive legal review of domestic labor and property legislation against international standards, alongside targeted surveys in Baghdad and Erbil assessing women workers in the private sector. The project convened multi-sectoral dialogues with ministries, trade unions, chambers of commerce, and civil society actors. It culminated in a specialized study presenting structural policy reform recommendations, accompanied by a practical legal handbook designed to guide and safeguard the labor rights of women working across the private sector.