Baa'th Party General Federation of Iraqi Women Medal

[Guest IMHF]

General Federation of Iraqi Women Medal Baa'th Party General Federation of Iraqi Women Medal

The Medal looks very cheaply made.

Here are some items from my collection that I want to learn about.

1. General Federation of Iraqi Women Medal

2. Book

3. Plate award for service

I would like to learn more about my items so if you have any information please post here at the GMIC.

Thank you

God Bless

SSG Luna, Lorenzo

[Ed_Haynes]

Nice. Have seen obllique reference to this before. What documentation do we have regarding this one?? Do you know the Arabic name (transliterated)?

Can we have a detailed scan of the medal?

Edited October 20, 2007 by Ed_Haynes

[Guest IMHF]

FRONT:

[Guest IMHF]

BACK

[Guest IMHF]

General Federation of Iraqi Women Baa'th Party General Federation of Iraqi Women Service Decorete

[Guest IMHF]

General Federation of Iraqi Women Book with Medal

[Guest IMHF]

General Federation of Iraqi Women Book Label

[Guest IMHF]

General Federation of Iraqi Women Book First Page

[Kev in Deva]

I took the liberty of highlighting the medal pics for some clarity.

Kevin in Deva.

[Ed_Haynes]

Thanks, Kevin! I was about to do the same thing and you beat me to it.

[Guest IMHF]

Thank you:

God Bless

SSG Luna, Lorenzo

[Paul R]

Other than being a woman, what were the criteria of this award?

[Ed_Haynes]

Other than being a woman, what were the criteria of this award?

Unknown, Paul. While I have seen reference to this medal, this is the first time I have seen one. I suspect it was a general "good girl", distinguished service to the federation, kind of award. It would take finding the actual regulations, which I am sure once existed.

[Guest IMHF]

Ed

Do you think this is a made up medal? It looks very cheap to me, I keep seeing them pop up on E-bay for $30-$50.00.

Thank You

God Bless

SSG Luna, Lorenzo

Edited November 3, 2007 by IMHF

[Ed_Haynes]

A good question. I am sure stuff is being made and invented just to sell to the occupation forces. That is one of the things that people under foreign occupation have probably always done throughout history.

It does, however, have the feel of one of those things that would have been produced after Gulf War II, during the years of ongoing sanctions and bombing, that were intended to boost flagging civilian morale. It also reflects the low quality (= sanctions) of those late-Ba'ath years.

The problem is that we may never know. One of the common casualties of foreign invasion is the archives of the overthrown government, especially those things that are of no interest to the invaders and teh government they set up. I was able to get some copies of regulations and so on from a friend in Baghdad in the weeks just before the commencement of Gulf War III (and I'm sure those packets added entries to my FBI file), but the hoped-for "many more" copies of regulations never came, as his part of Badghad was pretty heavily "liberated" and I suspect he didn't survive the invasion. Getting information on these 1991-2003 civil awards was a particular goal, and they were many and generally unknown.

[sabrigade]

A good question. I am sure stuff is being made and invented just to sell to the occupation forces. That is one of the things that people under foreign occupation have probably always done throughout history.

It does, however, have the feel of one of those things that would have been produced after Gulf War II, during the years of ongoing sanctions and bombing, that were intended to boost flagging civilian morale. It also reflects the low quality (= sanctions) of those late-Ba'ath years.

The problem is that we may never know. One of the common casualties of foreign invasion is the archives of the overthrown government, especially those things that are of no interest to the invaders and teh government they set up. I was able to get some copies of regulations and so on from a friend in Baghdad in the weeks just before the commencement of Gulf War III (and I'm sure those packets added entries to my FBI file), but the hoped-for "many more" copies of regulations never came, as his part of Badghad was pretty heavily "liberated" and I suspect he didn't survive the invasion. Getting information on these 1991-2003 civil awards was a particular goal, and they were many and generally unknown.

As I have previously stated,the awards made in Iraq are very complex to research especially given the lack of credible material availability as very aptly described by Ed in his comments above.

Although many copies and even awards have now been manufactured to fool and entice both the souvenier hunter and enthusiastic collector,i think that this specific award is genuine and was very cheaply made as described by Ed.

Examples of this award are also relatively easy to find.

The General Federation of Iraqi Women was established by the Baath Party shortly after its ascent to power.This movement,in the opinion of various authors,played a significant role in implementing state policy.

Community centers were established and run by the organization and numbers of more than 250 centers have been quoted.Educational as well as other programs were offered and at the same time the communication of official policy was encouraged and promoted.Many of these centers became known as literacy centers and were designed to bridge the gap between male and female literacy in Iraq.

In 1997,it was reckoned that approximately 47% of Iraqi women were members of the organization.It therfore played prominent role and its impact on the Iraqi society must have been notable.

In brief,the goals of the organization were-to fight enemies of the socialist arab society,to ensure the equality of iraqi women with men regarding rights,contribution to the economical and social development of iraq and to support mothers and children within the family structure.

The organization was disbanded by the Coalition Provisional Authority{CPA} after the recent war.Membership of the GFIW also required Baath Party membership.

One of the best "rememberances" I have of my 3 years in Iraq is the woman whom I met and married there.Some of these inputs come from her experiences of living and growing up in Iraq.She now resides in Johannesburg with our daughter.

[Ed_Haynes]

Thanks for this, "sabrigade". We need to record such information before the memories fade.

[Paul R]

Thanks for this, "sabrigade". We need to record such information before the memories fade.

I agree!! Does she have anything she could add to this thread?

[Guest IMHF]

Good to learn more and more about ODM in your personal collection.

Thank you all

God Bless

SSG Luna, Lorenzo