Florin Gorgis

Florin is General Director of the KRG’s High Council of Women Affairs. "In my work field, I endeavor to achieve gender equity and equality. I help young generation in realizing their ambitions, especially women's ambitions to achieve their rights. ... In my case, as an Assyrian Christian woman, of course I do face the same struggles. And because I work on improving the rights of women I directly and indirectly in danger, anyone who stands up against violence against women in this region faces threats by certain extremist groups." Follow her at https://instagram.com/fgorgis

Florin Gorgis Seudin was born 30h March 1978 and is the current General Director for the High Council of Women’s Affairs in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq. She previously worked at the United Nations and as Executive Director at the Ministry of Civil Society in the Kurdistan Regional Government. She also founded Diana Organization for Sport & Culture, a non-profit organization focused on youth development

Career highlights

Florin’s first job was in 1999 as a translator and assistant with UNICEF, supporting international observers monitoring schools and health centers.

In 2001, she started a role as Program Officer and Peer Support Volunteer at UNWFP, providing counseling and interventions to staff members who were in emotional distress.

In 2015, she participated in the CEDAW’s discussion report of Iraq in Geneva in 2015.

In 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019, she participated in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women sessions (the 56th, 57th, 58th, 60th, 61st, and 63rd sessions, respectively) at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

In 2014, she spoke at a session of the European Parliament in Brussels regarding the laws, mechanisms, and achievements made by the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding women’s rights.

High Council of Women's Affairs

In 2011, Florin joined the Kurdistan Regional Government’s High Council of Women’s Affairs as General Director. This launched her advocacy for women in Kurdistan, based on the High Council’s mission design and write all strategies, plans, and programs of the KRG regarding women’s issues. In this role, she has been the Kurdistan Regional Government’s most senior voice in conveying women’s issues both inside and outside the region. Significant reforms launched under her leadership have included,

In 2011, she helped compose the Kurdistan Region’s National Strategy for combating violence against women, and in 2016 she helped compose the Kurdistan Region’s National Strategy for developing the status of women. She is a member of both the Government Committee for Combating Child Marriage, and the Government Committee for Ending Female Genital Mutilation in the Kurdistan Region.

The KRG has emerged as a leader in women’s rights in the Middle East. In 2019, she successfully campaigned for the reinstatement of an independent committee dedicated to women’s rights in the Parliament of Kurdistan, after this committee had been merged with another committee.

Personal life

Florin is an active carver of wood and candles. She attends church regularly.
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My advice for young women, who want to follow their dreams especially in a male dominant societies, is perseverance and hard work, cooperation and joint action in order to raise the status of women in society because women are half of the society. I encourage them to learn and train continuously. Ultimately, my goal is to serve and empower women in all aspects of life.

I would also like to give my thanks to a man, the Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region of Iraq ‘’Nechirvan Barzani’’ he was the first person who supported our women’s council, has spoken out about violence against women bravely and has created a mechanism to create a safer space for women in Kurdistan.

Accolades

چالاکوانی مافی ئافره‌تانی ئاشووری ، به‌ڕێوبه‌ری گشتی دیوانی کارو باری ئفره‌تان له‌ حکومه‌تی هه‌رێمی کوردستان