Girl power: A tale of two sisters
“I work here because I want girls to be allowed to come to this center and learn music, tailoring, or sports. I come to this center so families see me and encourage their daughters to come and participate in this center.”
The words are quietly spoken, but full of determination. 18 year old Marwa is diminutive in stature, but little else.
As budding advocates for women and girls, one of most powerful attributes as she and her 11-year-old sister Raghad have as volunteers is to act as a roll models, delivering the message to other girls that the UNICEF-supported youth-friendly space (YFS) is a place for them too.
“In the beginning, I visited a lot of schools, talking to the girls my age and telling them that I am a student and volunteer in the center. I told them over and over that this center is not only for boys but for girls as well,” Marwa emphasizes.
Girls are disproportionally adversely affected by conflict in Iraq. Not only are they among the first to leave school, but they often most acutely feel the impact of poverty being victims of child marriage or growing to adulthood without marketable skills.
So including girls in public spaces like the YFS is critical step both for young women and for other displaced youths to participate in moving Iraq forward.
“It’s important that people know that we young people are doing things for Iraq,” Marwa says.
We first met Marwa in the summer of 2017, when she volunteered at an event held by UNICEF in Dohuk for International Youth Day.
Now, she and her younger sister Raghad are volunteering at one of UNICEF’s youth-friendly spaces in Akre, a town in the high mountains of northern Iraq. Displaced from their home in Mosul in 2014, the sisters have done all they can to continue their education, and get involved in their new community.
It was Marwa who first heard about the YFS, which is funded by the Governments of Canada and Germany. “I came to this center after some of the YFS volunteers visited our school. I heard that there were activities at the center, and I asked about them. The volunteers said ‘We want to make you happy.’”
Raghad joined afterwards. “I came [to the youth center] with my sister one day. I’ve been coming here for five months. I’ve participated in the English language [classes] and art activities arranged for volunteers, as well as volleyball matches,” she says.
The YFS in Akre serves displaced youth like Marwa and Raghad who have had to flee their homes from elsewhere in Iraq. It also serves Syrian refugees who may be in need of mental health care and support. Additionally, young people from the host community of Akre are welcome to come, making the YFS a place where they can build ties across communities.
The YFS where Maria and Raghad is one of dozens of Youth or Child Friendly Spaces that UNICEF runs with partners across Iraq. Child friendly spaces are geared towards younger children, while the YFS targets adolescents and youths up to age 25 with recreational activities like sports, art and dancing; supplementing their time at school with additional classes; engaging in livelihood building activities where they learn vocational skills such as sewing or electrical mechanics. Most critically, young people in need of psychosocial support are able to get it at the center.
The YFS is having a positive impact — the activities being run were a catalyst for Raghad to not just attend but get involved. “I liked their work and I wanted to help kids my age, so I started to volunteer,” she said. Iraq will rebuild with people helping each other.
Jennifer Sparks is a Communications Consultant with UNICEF Iraq.
