Cablegate: Iraqi Women Plant Flag As First Female Police Officers

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RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2986 3161021
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121021Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5412
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFISS/COMJSOC FT BRAGG NC

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002986

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

TAGS: KJUS PGOV IZ

SUBJECT: Iraqi Women Plant Flag As First Female Police Officers

1. (SBU) Summary: Coordinator for Assistance Transition Patricia
Haslach attended Baghdad Police College's graduation ceremony,
including its first class of 50 female police officers on November
9. Recruited from around Iraq, the new first lieutenants will serve
at Ministry of Interior (MOI) and provincial headquarters. INL
supports 13 International Police Advisors at the Baghdad Police
College under the military's Multinational Security Transition
Command Iraq's (MNSTC-I) training command. Danish and UK police
advisors also worked closely with the cadets. Attended by Interior
Minister Bolani just two weeks after the car bomb attacks that
devastated several government buildings in Baghdad, the graduation
was a positive sign of the GOI's determination to return to
business. The graduates, representing a new generation of women
trailblazers in security professions, expressed the need for
advanced training and combating discrimination in a male-dominant
sector. End Summary.

2. (SBU) Iraq's first fifty women graduated from the Baghdad Police
College's officer training program on November 9 alongside 1,050
male colleagues. Interior Minister Bolani attended and gave opening
remarks, encouraging graduates to continue the fight against
terrorism despite recent setbacks. The MOI recruited the women
through a nation-wide television, radio, and print media campaign
last fall. The self-called "Lioness Group" are all university
graduates, roughly half are lawyers; others are scientists,
sociologists, psychologists, journalists, and accountants. The
women attended a separate training program from men with a
reportedly similar curriculum. In addition to the officers, 25
former shurta (basic policewomen) also graduated as the first female
commissioner class (first line supervisors).

3. (SBU) INL supports 13 International Police Advisors (IPA) at the
Baghdad Police College under the military's training command. To
complement the formal training, U.S., UK, and Danish police and
military women serving in Baghdad mentored the Iraqi cadets on the
challenges facing them as trailblazers in a traditionally male
profession.

4. (SBU) Danish Police Superintendent and International Police
Advisor at the Baghdad Police College Nanna Skriver told us that
while the MOI will not relegate the women strictly to administrative
tasks, the new graduates will be assigned to headquarters, instead
of police stations, in areas from which they were recruited. This
reflects both general security concerns and their own desires to
serve near their families. Based on their educational background,
the women will serve in forensics, human resources, investigations,
public and higher education, domestic violence, and community
outreach capacities. As more female police officers graduate and
societal views about women in the police force become more accepted,
Skriver is optimistic that future classes will join their male
colleagues in the full range of field positions. Another 100 women
will begin officer candidate training in January.

5. (SBU) Coordinator for Assistance Transition Patricia Haslach
attended the ceremony, along with MNSTC-I MG Barbero, and spoke with
many of the female cadets following the ceremony. Haslach praised
the women for their brave decision to serve their country. The
newly minted first lieutenants told her that they were fully aware
Qnewly minted first lieutenants told her that they were fully aware
of the challenges ahead of them, but were eager to take on the task.
Several women expressed the need for additional higher-level
training opportunities for women in their new specialties and the
need to combat discrimination in a male-dominant profession.
Haslach reaffirmed the Embassy's commitment to police training,
noting our intention to focus on the advanced skills such as those
advocated by the graduates. (Note: As police training transitions
from the U.S. military to civilian lead, INL Baghdad will be
incorporating specialized and higher-level training and advising
programs like those advocated by the new officers. End Note)

6. (SBU) The ceremony was widely covered by international and local
media, including the Washington Post, New York Times, Associated
Press, NBC, and Christian Science Monitor. Haslach gave on-camera
interviews to leading Iraqi TV stations, al Sumaria and al Hurra,
emphasizing USG support for the new Iraqi police officers and their
families. She also underscored the assistance coordination with the
international community to support the Iraqi Police and Security
Forces as they demonstrate great resilience in the wake of the
October 25 bombings.

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