Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed
{{Short description|Iraqi first lady and politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| office = First Lady of Iraq
| image = Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed.png
| termstart = 17 October 2022
| predecessor = Sarbagh Salih
| president = Abdul Latif Rashid
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1954}}
| birth_place = Sabonkaran, Sulaymaniyah, Kingdom of Iraq
| spouse = Abdul Latif Rashid
| children = 3
| relations = Hero Ibrahim Ahmed (sister)
Jalal Talabani (brother-in-law)
| parents = Ibrahim Ahmad (father)
| party = Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
}}
Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed ({{langx|ckb|شاناز ئیبراهیم ئەحمەد}}) (born 1954) is an Iraqi-Kurdish politician and current First Lady of Iraq. Her husband is President Abdul Latif Rashid. She is a daughter of the Kurdish judge, writer, and politician Ibrahim Ahmed, and novelist Galawezh Salh Fatah. She is also a sister of former First Lady of Iraq, Hero Ibrahim Ahmed.{{cite web | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/women-make-change/2015/10/29/hero-ibrahim-ahmad-the-original-female-peshmerga | title=Hero Ibrahim Ahmad: The Original Female Peshmerga | date=29 October 2015 }}
Shanaz is a member of a prominent, politically active family from Sulaymaniyah and is closely associated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party,{{cite web | url=https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/475791 | title='Dance of the Monkeys' Takes PUK Internal Tensions to Another Level | date=25 November 2018 }} which is currently headed by her nephew, Bafel Talabani.
Early life
She was born on January 2, 1954, in the neighborhood of Sabonkaran in Sulaymaniyah Governorate to Ibrahim Ahmad and Galawezh Salh Fatah. She was the third of eight children.{{Cite news |last=Goudsouzian |first=Tanya |date=17 April 2024 |title=Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed: From refugee to the First Lady of Iraq |url=https://www.newarab.com/features/shanaz-ibrahim-ahmed-refugee-first-lady-iraq |access-date=2024-10-11 |work=newarab}} As a child, she and her family relocated regularly due to her father's activities and political instability, and her education was routinely interrupted.
Following the 1958 military coup in Iraq, her family relocated to Baghdad where she attended the Mamounia Elementary School. In 1962, the family returned to Sulaymaniyah where she continued her studies at Khanzad School. During this period, due to regular political instability, Shanaz and her family were often forced to find refuge in the Zagros Mountains.{{Cite web |last=Voice |first=Islamic |date=2024-05-04 |title=Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed: A Journey of Resilience from Refugee to First Lady - |url=https://islamicvoice.com/muslim-world/shanaz-ibrahim-ahmed-a-journey-of-resilience-from-refugee-to-first-lady/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |language=en-US}} In 1964, as a result of Kurdish factional infighting, the family fled to border villages in Iran before moving to Tehran. Two years later, the family moved to Baghdad where Shanaz completed her secondary studies at a Persian school. In September 1972, she began science studies at Baghdad University.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-22 |title=Cooperation with Iraqi Universities. The First Lady of the Republic of Iraq, Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, visits the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO, UNIMED member |url=https://www.uni-med.net/partner-news/cooperation-with-iraqi-universities-the-first-lady-of-the-republic-of-iraq-shanaz-ibrahim-ahmed-visits-the-international-telematic-university-uninettuno-unimed-member/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |language=en-US}}
As a result of the Iraqi government's crackdown on Kurds in 1973, Shanaz fled to Cairo, Egypt with some of her siblings, including Hero and her husband Jalal Talabani. Her parents and younger siblings went into hiding in the mountains.{{Cite web |date=2008-05-04 |title=Iraqi president's wife narrowly escapes attack |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20080504-iraqi-presidents-wife-narrowly-escapes-attack-iraq |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=France 24 |language=en}} As she was not permitted to study in Cairo, she left for Beirut, Lebanon to study engineering. In 1974, Shanaz returned to join her parents and the Kurdish resistance in the Zagros Mountains. In 1975, following the signing of the Algiers agreement between Iran and Iraq, the entire family was once again forced to seek refuge in Urmia, Iran. A few months later, they moved to Tehran where she enrolled in Pahlavi University (later Tehran University) to study medicine.{{Cite web |title=موقع رووداو {{!}} |url=https://nabd.com/s/133949757-7ff179/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A5%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%85-%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B6%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B5%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A3%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A-%D8%A3%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%BA%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=موقع نبض}}
In 1976, Shanaz was engaged to Abdul Latif Rashid, who was then working as a hydraulic engineer in Saudi Arabia.{{Cite web |title=Meet President Latif Rashid, Iraq's new president |url=https://kurdsatenglish.com/news.aspx?id=636&mapid=2 |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=kurdsatenglish.com}}{{Cite web |title=President Speech |url=https://presidency.iq/EN/info.aspx?jimare=1007}} A few months later, facing the prospect of house arrest under a new agreement between the Shah of Iran and the Iraqi government, Shanaz and part of her family fled to Damascus, Syria while her parents sought political asylum in the United Kingdom. In Damascus, Shanaz resumed her medical studies.{{cite news |title=صاحبة النقد الجريء.. شاناز ابراهيم احمد سيدة العراق الأولى |url=https://shafaq.com/ar/%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A9/%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%82%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%85-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%88%D9%84%D9%89 |access-date=17 October 2022 |agency=Shafaq News |date=13 October 2022}}
On 29 November 1977, Shanaz married Abdul Latif Rashid in Damascus, Syria. A year later, they moved to London. They have two sons and one daughter. They have two sons and one daughter.{{cite web |date=14 October 2022 |title=The first lady of Iraq .. Who is "Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed" | Arab and world |url=https://news.trenddetail.com/middleeast/186329.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016201845/https://news.trenddetail.com/middleeast/186329.html |archive-date=16 October 2022}}{{Cite web |title=Iraq's President receives King Charles III's written message |url=https://kurdsatenglish.com/news.aspx?id=1025&mapid=2 |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=kurdsatenglish.com}}{{Cite web |title=La primera dama iraquí critica el ataque de Turquía contra el PKK en la región del Kurdistán - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012 |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/es/originals/2024/07/la-primera-dama-iraqui-critica-el-ataque-de-turquia-contra-el-pkk-en-la-region |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=www.al-monitor.com |language=es}} Her daughter Sara Rashid is President of Kurdistan Save the Children (KSC), a non-governmental humanitarian organization founded by Hero Ibrahim Ahmed.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-06 |title=Erbil: KSC and UNHCR Launch Comprehensive Child Protection Training Initiative |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/erbil-ksc-and-unhcr-launch-comprehensive-child-protection-training-initiative-enarku |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-05-27 |title=Kurdistan Save The Children Protects and Empowers Children |url=https://www.iina.news/kurdistan-save-the-children-protects-and-empowers-children/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=Iraq International News Agency |language=en-GB}}
Career
While Shanaz never took part in the armed resistance against Saddam Hussein like her sister Hero and brother-in-law Jalal Talabani, she was integral to the efforts from abroad through fundraising, lobbying, raising international awareness, and organizing political rallies. She also took a lead on humanitarian efforts, while her husband was one of the leading figures of the Iraqi political opposition in exile.
Following the 1991 Kurdish uprising, the first Gulf War, and the imposition of sanctions on Iraq, Shanaz co-founded Kurdistan Save the Children (KSC), a non-governmental humanitarian organization, with her sister Hero Ibrahim Ahmed.{{Cite web |last=Goudsouzian |first=Tanya |title=Hero Ibrahim Ahmad: The original female Peshmerga |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/women-make-change/2015/10/29/hero-ibrahim-ahmad-the-original-female-peshmerga |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-05-04 |title=Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed: A Journey of Resilience from Refugee to First Lady - |url=https://islamicvoice.com/muslim-world/shanaz-ibrahim-ahmed-a-journey-of-resilience-from-refugee-to-first-lady/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |language=en-US}} Today, KSC is the primary sponsor of a children's activity centre at the Arbat Camp on the outskirts of Sulaymaniyah, which shelters nearly 10,000 refugees, half of them children, who fled ongoing violence in neighbouring Syria since 2013.{{cite web | url=https://www.newarab.com/video/iraqs-first-lady-marks-anfal-genocide-memorial-speaking-gaza | title=Iraq's First Lady Marks Anfal Genocide Memorial Speaking in Gaza | date=2024 }}
Shanaz co-founded the Kurdsat Broadcasting Corporation in January 2000. She also established the Ibrahim Ahmed Foundation.{{Cite web |title=Demirtaş: I am honored to receive the Ibrahim Ahmed Award |url=https://pukmedia.com/EN/Details/73512 |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=pukmedia.com |language=en}}
Along with her husband, she is an collector of Iraqi, Kurdish, and traditional artwork. Part of their vast collection is on display at the Zamwa Gallery and the Latif Rashid Gallery in Sulaymaniyah. She also works on preserving heritage and restoring several Ottoman-era sites, particularly in the Kurdish region.{{Cite web |last=Saya |first=Bapak |date=2024-07-12 |title=Iraq’s First Lady issues desperate appeal over Turkish invasion |url=https://medyanews.net/iraqs-first-lady-issues-desperate-appeal-over-turkish-invasion/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=Medya News |language=en-GB}}
References
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Category:Iraqi Kurdistani politicians
Category:Patriotic Union of Kurdistan politicians
Category:21st-century Iraqi women politicians
Category:21st-century Iraqi politicians
Category:Kurdish women in politics
Category:21st-century Kurdish writers
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