SCORING GIRLS IRAQ ENTERS A NEW PHASE: EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SOCCER AND THE PREVENTION OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

SCORING GIRLS* empowers girls – regardless of nationality, socioeconomic background, or religious belief. We create secure and trusting environments where, through soccer, pedagogical and psychosocial support, and a sense of community, they can build self-confidence, strengthen social skills, and develop new perspectives for their future.

Since 2022, we have been implementing the project not only in Germany but also in Iraq, where we work with girls living in camps for internally displaced people or in host communities in the Kurdistan Region. Adapted to the needs of our participants on the ground, we have expanded the project and integrated new components: the new phase includes weekly soccer training sessions as well as workshops that strengthen physical health, self-confidence, and resilience.

A key focus is the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV). This includes GBV awareness workshops as well as additional mental health sessions, led by our GBV expert Mahabad, pedagogical support worker Soleen, and psychotherapist Aylin. In these sessions, participants are informed about domestic violence, intimate partner violence, online violence, and harassment, and learn where they can access external support services. The sessions are interactive and engage the participants through group discussions, role plays, brainstorming exercises, and awareness-raising activities to encourage engagement and reflection. The project also involves the wider camp community and participants’ families, who are invited to join selected activities. The new phase further includes inspiring encounters with role models from the sports sector, excursions and activities such as a visit to the Illusion Museum, as well as training opportunities for girls who wish to become SCORING GIRLS* coaches.

The project therefore combines soccer with psychosocial support, education on gender-based violence (GBV), and the involvement of families and the camp community. This ensures that girls build resilience and an awareness of their rights, while their communities increasingly accept and support their participation. Empowerment is promoted through various pathways, including soccer, mental health support and resilience-building, and the prevention of gender-based violence.

Many of the SCORING GIRLS* have experienced flight, displacement, or violence, including survivors of the 2014 genocide against the Yazidis committed by the so-called Islamic State (IS). The girls often grow up in precarious conditions and face discrimination, as well as limited access to education, healthcare, and social participation. Even girls born after 2014 are shaped by their families’ experiences and the lasting impact of the genocide. SCORING GIRLS* Iraq provides them with secure and trusting environments, strengthens their resources, and creates opportunities for connection, community, and personal development.

Thank you to SPACE and Ein Herz für Kinder (eHfK) for supporting the SCORING GIRLS*.

SCORING GIRLS* was implemented as part of SPACE. SPACE is funded by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.