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SALT LAKE CITY -- A group of women from Iraq is visiting Salt Lake City this week. They are members of an organization that has been working since 2005 to improve the lives of their countrymen.
The Iraqi women and the American women, who are hosting them, belong to an organization called FUTURE--Families United Toward Universal Respect. Their mission is to educate and train women in Iraq so they can improve their society, starting with their families.
Eight women from both northern and southern Iraq toured the Humanitarian Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Friday. They came for a cultural exchange educational experience, but in Iraq they put their lives on the line for this work.
"All of us have been threatened many times, but we have the courage, we have the determination to rebuild our country, to help Iraq. And our reward is the smiles of the children and the happiness of the windows," said Noha Ahmad Al-Agha, president of the Nintu Society for Humanitarian Assistance.
And they have many challenges. Women make up 63 percent of Iraq's population. The country has 3 million widows and 2.5 million orphans.
Joan Betros founded the organization FUTURE, and just returned from Iraq and a humanitarian project involving 2,000 women who are widows.
"We go home to home, village to village, and that's how we do it. In a very non-threatening way, which is adjusted to their society and their culture and their needs," Betros explained.
Their American hosts say these women can change lives for two reasons: their educations and their positions--some of them in the government.
Some are doctors; others university professors, deputies or ministers of government agencies. They said they are grateful to the American military for liberating their country. They're proud of their country's history and hope to contribute to a stable future.
"It is very important to empower women and give them more skills and experience in many fields, like sewing, computer, typing and so on," said Dr. Azhar Abdul Karem Al-Shakly, former minister of state for women's affairs.
There are now about 400 members of the organization FUTURE in Iraq.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
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