NEWS CENTER - Zekiye İsmail Heqi, who served as the first woman judge in Iraq, lost her life.

 

Iraq’s first woman judge, Zekiye Ismail Heqi, lost her life in the United States on August 23. Born on September 18, 1939 in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, Zekiye completed her law degree at Baghdad University in 1957. Zekiye, who was the founder of the Kurdistan Women’s Union in 1952, served as the general secretary of the Kurdistan Women’s Union in 1957. She took office as the first woman judge on February 9, 1959. In this context, Zekiye took courses at the University of Switzerland in 1966 and received her master degree from Baghdad University in 1972. She also received her international diploma from the University of America.

 

Actively participated in the women’s struggle

 

Working socially and politically, Zekiye was active in the women’s struggle. She took part as a lawyer in the 1991 uprising. Between 1975 and 1996, she immigrated to the United States due to the pressures of the Baath regime. Returning to Baghdad in 2003 after the collapse of the Iraqi regime, Zekiye became a consultant to the Ministry of Justice. After 2003 she was elected as the government executive.