On March 7, we celebrated International Women’s Day 2023 in Baghdad, Iraq, with all the amazing women in our Mercy Hands Group (Mercy Hands for Humanitarian Aid, Mercy Hands America, and Mercy Hands Europe), along with our invited local and international partners. The celebration was organized at an art gallery, called The Gallery.
Aligned with the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”, our celebration theme was “e-IT Equality on Innovation and Technology”. Mercy Hands speakers presented our work in addressing the needs of women and girls across Iraq and encouraging women to realize their full potential.
Other guest speakers shared their insights from their career paths in the IT and other highly competitive professional fields. During the event, the guests discussed challenges and best practices to promote gender equality in Iraq and the region.
The guest of honor was the representative of the Canadian Embassy in Iraq, Mr. Colin Lake, Political and Economic Counsellor of the Canadian Embassy. Mr. Lake expressed his appreciation of Mercy Hands’ continuous effort to support and empower women in Iraq.
Pleased to celebrate #IWD2023 with @MercyHands , who consistently deliver excellent work, including training in IT and coding to girls and young people, including people with disabilities, funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives #CFLI. #NoWomenLeftBehind pic.twitter.com/KYIqT6IKKr
— Canada in Iraq (@CanadainIraq) March 8, 2023
Our Executive Director, Dr. Samar Abid, sent a congratulations note to the participants of the celebration, encouraging them to continue their efforts towards the achievement of gender equality. Part of the note reads:
“All you do is a huge step towards achieving gender equality. To all of you, Happy International Women’s Day 2023
To all women, everyday:
You Learn
You Elevate smiles from sorrows
You Achieve milestones
You Develop new approaches
You Empower us to see hope
You Rise for a better future for women and humanity
Everyday you are a L.E.A.D.E.R”.
From all of us at Mercy Hands America, 💐Happy International Women’s Day💐
