WADI

WADI was founded in 1991 by several people who, in the aftermath of the second Gulf war, were involved in projects in Iraq and Iraqi-Kurdistan. Thomas was one of them. He was still a student at that time, working for some Christian relief projects in southern Iraq. There he saw the barbaric reality of this country but he also realized opportunities... to change things. These opportunities were more given in Iraqi-Kurdistan where the first WADI projects were launched in 1993. WADI's concept developed gradually during that time. The idea was to combine practical help with political work (in Europe and Middle East) and a clear political position. WADI criticized vigorously the restrictive German asylum policy vis-à-vis the refugees from Iraq and the Middle East. And WADI strived for the promotion of freedom and democracy in the Middle East which is dominated by dictatorships. The WADI crew was convinced that for the democratization process, an open society is a precondition. In order to change society in this way, WADI's goal was to support the oppressed and give a voice to the voiceless. The main groups WADI focused on were women, children and prisoners. During the last 16 years, WADI maintained several women's shelters for victims of domestic violence and women threatened by honor killing. WADI organized literacy courses and vocational courses for women. WADI helped to establish community radio stations. And, in 2004, WADI discovered female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kurdistan. Since then, WADI undertook many efforts to abolish this practice: a public campaign against FGM, a political campaign for the parliament to declare FGM a punishable act, and information and education on the ground by WADI's mobile teams. How often occur on the genital mutilation of girls in Kurdistan? Concerning the prevalence of FGM, please refer to our interactive map on the Stop FGM in Kurdistan website. How to fix the problem?Read More