RWO Algeria Day celebrations in Basra 1960

The Republican Women's Organization () was a women's organization in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. The launching of the organization in 1960 was encouraged by the

Abd al-Karim Qasim Abdul-Karim Qasim Muhammad Bakr al-Fadhli Al-Qaraghuli al-Zubaidi ( ' ; 21 November 1914 – 9 February 1963) was an Iraqi military officer and statesman who served as the Prime Minister and de facto leader of Iraq from 1958 until his ...

government, in a move to counter the influence of the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

-controlled

Iraqi Women's League The Iraqi Women's League was an Iraqi women's organization, founded in 1952. The purpose was to campaign for women's rights and gender equality. It conducted a major campaign for women's suffrage in the 1950s. It was founded as the League for De ...

. A license was given to the poetress Aminah Nur-ud-Din to found the Republican Women's Organization. The organization was led by Dr. Saminah al-Badri. Both of these women were known for the

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

views. In May 1960, the organization was given a license by the Ministry of Health to set up a mother-and-child care centre. The organization had branches in

Kirkuk Kirkuk (; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, Iraqi Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Cit ...

and

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

. The organization began publishing ''Risalah al-Marah'' (رسالة المرأة, 'Women's Message') in 1963.

References

1960 establishments in Iraq Women's organizations based in Iraq Organizations established in 1960 {{iraq-stub