Women Leading the Way in Community Policing

Baghdad, Iraq -- Major Aseel Abd Alwhab, dressed in a navy-blue uniform adorned with a white aiguilette, salutes a colonel of the community policing (CP) force, in Baghdad, before stepping inside the office to begin her day.

First on her schedule: a meeting with her team and the manager to review cases reported through the central national hotline of the Ministry of Interior. Once tasks are assigned, she then heads to the field to meet potential victims and find solutions. Often, the day wraps up with an awareness-raising session on community policing at a university or market.

The CP model in Iraq is a cornerstone in restoring trust between local community members and police officers, who serve as primary security providers after years of conflicts. Officers work closely with communities to build trust, prevent crime, and address social issues before they escalate.

Aseel joined the department – now a directorate – in 2018 as a captain, right after earning her master's degree. Despite coming from a military family – her father and siblings serve at the Ministry of Defense – her career choice came as a surprise to them. At the time, it was uncommon for a woman to join law enforcement.

“My brother was first to learn that I had been accepted. He was in shock. I was the only woman in our circle who was going to become a police officer. They were worried about reactions from the communities,” recalls Aseel. Now, Now, they are proud of her and her work.

Indeed, the trend has changed and, currently, there are over 100 women who serve a community police staff across 14 governorates in Iraq. With CP department’s recent upgrade to a directorate under the Ministry of Interior, more women will be recruited, strengthening their role in law enforcement.

Aseel is pleased to see the trend of more women joining community policing and is often approached by girls attending her awareness-raising sessions, who are keen to follow her footsteps. Still, she remembers the challenges of establishing herself at the beginning of her career — initial skepticism and competitiveness from male colleagues and distrust from community members.

“Now my male colleagues ask me for support with some cases, and I see how the attitude in the community has changed as they see results and resolved cases. We’ve proven that more women are needed in law enforcement,” she adds.

Every day, Aseel works with cases of domestic violence, online blackmailing, taking pride in helping women and children, advocating for their rights. Helping families find peace is her greatest reward. At home, she draws strength from her husband’s encouragement and two children. “My husband supports me and wants to see me advance in my career. Like many women, I’ve worked hard to balance my personal and professional life—it’s not easy, but it’s worth it.”

“Iraqi women are superwomen,” echoes Nasreen, a community police member at a different branch. “I’ve found myself in this work – it’s very gratifying.”

Both Aseel and Nesren are confident that having more women police officers helps create more trust, especially when they manage sensitive cases.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Iraq has supported the development of the CP Women’s Empowerment and Protection Plan for 2023 and 2024, as well as CP strategic plan for 2024-2026. Supported by the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, IOM will continue working with the Government of Iraq towards CP women’s empowerment and strengthening community policing for safe and more secure societies.

Background information:

IOM has provided a comprehensive suite of technical assistance to the Government of Iraq since 2012 through capacity building initiatives, community engagement programming, alongside equipment delivery and infrastructure development to expand the CP model to areas of strategic importance.

Cooperation between IOM and the Ministry of Interior, a primary partner of IOM, is institutionalized through a long-standing Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2015 and renewed in 2017. IOM’s CP programming contributes to the objectives of key policy frameworks for the Ministry of Interior, including the Local Police Service Road Map, Iraq’s National Security Strategy and the National Strategy for Security Sector Reform for 2024-2032.

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