FOB Warrior celebrates Women's Equality Day

Photo By 1st Sgt. Justin A. Naylor | Capt. Kimi Damassia, a liaison officer with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and Iraqi women gather around a cake with the words "we can do it" during a Women's Equality Day celebration at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq, Aug. 26. Damassia was one of the key note speakers at the event.  

KIRKUK, IRAQ

08.26.2009

Story by Spc. Justin A. Naylor 

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARRIOR, Iraq - "We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all the civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the United States, be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever." These famous words are more than 100 years old, but Susan B. Anthony's message in them still rings true today.

In celebration of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, an observance was held at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk, Iraq, Aug. 26.

Speakers from the U.S. Army and Air Force, along with a special guest from Kirkuk city, delivered speeches discussing a broad range of women's equality issues.

Sgt. 1st Class Betty Ortega, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and the women's initiative representative for 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, was responsible for setting up the event, and was also the first speaker.

"Women's equality day is [about] more than the passage of an amendment, it is a significant day that defines and celebrates women's courage to continue on fighting and pushing through the obstacles that come their way, regardless of the circumstances," she said during her speech.

A lot of the younger generations, both service members and civilians, do not understand where we got the rights that we have now, said Ortega.

According to Ortega, the reason for holding this event was to raise awareness of the struggles that women throughout history have endured.

Following Ortega, Capt. Kimi Damassia, a liaison officer with 2nd BCT, spoke about the changes that the women's equality movement brought about.

"As we are gathered here today, in observance of the Women's Equality Day, you can look around you and see the staggering changes for women that have come about since 1848 at the world's first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York," she said. "That massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women led to the changes that we see and enjoy today, changes in family life, in religion, in government, in employment, and in education."

But Damassia warned that although there has been much progress in the U.S., there is still a long way to go for nations like Iraq.

"Women continue to face serious hindrances worldwide, including here in Iraq," she said. "From violence, to illiteracy, to lack of employment opportunities, the women in Iraq remind us of the challenges that we have overcome and those that remain."

Damassia, along with Ortega and others have been working diligently during their time in Iraq to help the women here become more empowered.

"Here in Kirkuk, the division and brigade, along with the U.S. Embassy and Provincial Reconstruction Team, have integrated their efforts to help improve the lives of women in Kirkuk by promoting the economic and social status of women," said Damassia. "In a cohesive strategy, the brigade has developed actions aimed at combating the equality deficit in employment and the labor market."

"While it isn't easy to change tradition overnight, and there may be a varying degree of problem sets here in Kirkuk that women face, our efforts are geared to the activation of the society by the exchange of ideas and experience."

According to Damassia, this exchange of ideas takes place by having service members on FOB Warrior meet with local women, and also encouraging and partnering with women-based non-governmental organizations to strengthen their capabilities and participation in the community.

In the past, women here always had to hide themselves, said Ala Noori Talabani, an Iraqi woman who is a strong advocate of women's equality in the Kirkuk province.

Women would be punished for the crimes of their fathers and brothers and were treated as if they had no rights, she continued. But this is beginning to change.

According to Ala, women in Kirkuk have begun to make progress. They have been getting involved in events protesting the poor treatment of women, and have also started their own organizations with the sole purposes of working for women's equality.

"Progress has been done by the Iraqi women, and we are looking forward and keeping ongoing," said Ala. [We are] pushing ourselves to work harder in order to secure the future of our children."

"I believe that Iraqi women in the future will one day look back and celebrate the struggles we are going through now," she said.

Following the speeches, the Iraqi and U.S. women were treated to a special cake decorated with the words "We can do it," and remembered the struggles that the women before them have endured to get women's equality where it is today.

• Date Taken: 08.26.2009
• Date Posted: 08.31.2009 12:15
• Story ID: 38182
• Location: KIRKUK, IQ