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 AIC has been leading grassroots civic projects in Iraq since 2003, working entirely with Iraqi staff and without foreign security.
Granddaughter of Basra's leading cleric, AIC's Zainab Al-Suwaij joined the failed 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein. She wrote about her experience in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New Republic, and was profiled by Barbara Walters, BBC, and NPR. In 2003, she returned to Iraq to assist rebuilding efforts and advocate for women's rights, decrying marginalization of women in a 2004 New York Times op-ed.
Under her direction, AIC has assisted the following Iraqi civic initiatives:
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 Rebuilding Schools: In 2004, AIC led on-the-ground efforts to rebuild 2,500 elementary schools. AIC staff surveyed the state of existing schools, trainedthousands of
teachers, delivered aid kits to students, encouraged parents to send children to school, and helped implement a new curriculum.
- Representation for Women:
Despite being a majority of Iraq's population, women face obstacles in political and civic affairs. AIC joined with Women
Waging Peace and Women
for a Free Iraq to press for pluralism in government. The successul campaign achieved a 25% quota for women in government positions.
- Support for Female Civic Leaders: AIC led the Iraq Women's Empowerment Initiative (IWEI), training women leaders in democratic practices and entrepreneurship. In April of 2005, AIC co-organized a leadership conference featuring 150 Iraqi women leaders and a delegation of Congressional leaders. In 2006 and 2007, AIC administered a micro-grant program for over a dozen women-led NGOs in southern Iraq.
- Popular Education on Civil Rights: Our latest initiative is Ahd Al-Iraq ("Pledge for Iraq"), an effort to educate the public and political leaders about essential civil liberties. AIC is reaching out and partnering with tribal, religious, and clan leaders in the south of the country to create a grassroots movement to guarantee personal and civil liberties.
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