1. I. Introduction 

Since our founding in 1993, Women for Women International (WfWI) has served more than 500,000 of the most economically, socially and politically excluded women in countries affected by conflict with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to be catalysts for change in their lives, families, and communities. The core of our work is a holistic, 12-month social and economic empowerment and skills training program that helps marginalized women overcome poverty, make healthy decisions, become leaders in their communities, and build local and global networks to advocate for their rights. Currently, WfWI has country offices in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq, Palestine, Nigeria, and South Sudan, with independent Women for Women sister organizations in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Rwanda.

We contribute to improving the environment for women’s voice and participation by skilling grassroots women leaders to be Change Agents and advocate for the changes they want to see in their communities and beyond. We also amplify women's voices to national and international decision-makers and work to influence policies, processes and agendas that impact women’s lives.

With support from the UK Integrated Security Fund (UKISF) WfWI-Iraq in partnership with Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS) funded 13 local Iraqi Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) across Iraq covering 13 governorates.  WfWI is pleased to announce the second call for applications from the national/local WROs and CSOs across Iraq, including in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), to advance a localised Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda; sustain progress towards women’s rights and equality; and strengthen women’s full, equality and meaningful participation.

Project name: “Nisaa wa Al Salam” NISAAM.   

WfWI-Iraq is seeking applications from grassroots, women-led, CSOs and WROs across all 19 governorates of Iraq and the KRI, to implement self-defined WPS plans, priorities, and goals, including institutional strengthening, core activities, programmatic work, and advocacy efforts.

This RFA will remain open until 2nd June 2025 at 16:00hrs Iraq time.

1. II. Project Design 

1. PurposeandDesired Outcomes 

The overarching purpose of this RFA is to fund projects which support efforts to advance women's rights, foster equality and promote women’s meaningful participation in decision-making processes at local and national levels—paving the way for a sustainable and inclusive peace. This RFA contains all instructions and templates necessary to submit an initial application to be considered for funding.

Through this call for applications, WFWI-Iraq aims to provide flexible funding focused on enabling WROs and CSOs to define and deliver their self-defined priorities, that meet the identified needs of women and girls in the communities they serve. It will also focus on capacity sharing initiatives aimed at supporting WROs/CSOs to identify areas for growth and providing assistance to address them.

To ensure both comprehensive and strategic objectives are set across the WRO network, avoiding both overlap and duplication, this second round we have collaboratively set themes for WROs to bid against. Applications should incorporate at least one of the following themes, we also acknowledge applications may intersect across thematic priorities and this is also welcomed. All bids should aim to address women’s participation at all levels of decision-making as a cross-cutting theme.

Thematic areas for this RFA:

• Women Peace and Security (WPS) and Iraq National Action Plan (NAP): This may also include activities focused on preventing the rollback of women’s rights in Iraq, particularly efforts to counter backlash against women’s rights leaders and activists, ensuring their voices and contributions are protected and amplified.   We welcome bids that enable environments for women’s meaningful participation and strengthened capacity to progress the Iraq and KRI National Action Plans and WPS goals. This may also include activities focused on preventing the rollback of women’s rights in Iraq, particularly efforts to counter backlash against women’s rights leaders and activists, ensuring their voices and contributions are protected and amplified. This may also include participation at the community, national and regional levels for example through the inclusion of bids that prioritise participation in networks, coalitions and movement building opportunities. 
• Elections: In the context of the upcoming elections in Iraq, we welcome bids that include activities that focus on actively engaging and including women in decision-making processes, both as voters and candidates, as well as driving voter turnout, emphasising the importance of participation in the elections.  In this context we also welcome bids that incorporate mechanisms to respond to backlash for women engaging in electoral processes.
• Gender Based Violence (GBV): We welcome bids that seek to highlight and prevent gender-based violence including innovative approaches to support survivors of GBV, including conflict related sexual violence. Initiatives should consider engaging men and boys and stakeholders such as community police to play proactive roles in the prevention of GBV.
• Returns and Reintegration: We welcome bids that aim to support security for women, girls and female headed households returning and reintegrating into communities. This may include, for example, through women's economic empowerment as a form of participation that drives women's economic autonomy and security, to directly contribute to their meaningful participation in society and decision-making at all levels. 

Collectively WROs and women led CSOs working on activities with shared outcomes will help strengthen coordination and further develop cross Iraq WRO network. This is one of our overall programmes aims, and we welcome bids that look to advance this coordination.

1. Community Participation and Involvement of Key Stakeholders

Enhancing women’s participation in all forms of decision-making, as well as public and political life, is one of WfWI’s main objectives. Therefore, WfWI encourages applicants to take an active, inclusive, participatory approach with their target communities. This approach encourages sharing information and experiences and collaborating with project participants and partners (e.g. CSOs, WROs, Government institutions women’s groups and local leaders) to focus on addressing common problems and assuring collective ownership of the project. Community involvement is encouraged at every step of the process, from the development of project ideas and project design, reviews to the monitoring and evaluation of the project.

Applicants are also encouraged to involve other key stakeholders in the project's design, implementation, review, monitoring, and evaluation and to show how it is feeding into a wider body of work and desired outcomes.

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2. C. Target Population 

Through this RFA, WfWI encourages applicants to work with the most marginalized women impacted by the conflict. Target populations could include refugees, internally displaced persons, and women in their home communities with little access to education and income generating opportunities. The targeted women could, for example, fall into the following categories:

• Women from minority groups.
• Women affected by conflict, displaced or returned to their places of origin after displacement.
• Marginalized women due to economic, social or other forms of exclusion.
• Women who are experiencing or survivors of domestic violence
• Women living in rural areas or urban informal settlements: Those in urban areas who face economic and social marginalization and have limited access to services.
• Elderly women: Older women who may face age-related vulnerabilities, lack of social support, and limited access to healthcare and economic opportunities.
• Female heads of households: Women who are the primary or sole providers for their families, including widows or single mothers, who may face unique economic and social challenges.
• Young women and adolescent girls: Particularly those who are at risk of early marriage, lack access to education, or are facing other age-specific vulnerabilities.
• Women with disabilities: Women who face additional barriers to participation due to physical, mental, or sensory disabilities, particularly in conflict-affected areas.

​III. Funding Level

The maximum amount of funding available per applicant under this RFA is [IQD 57,500,000]. The budget must be prepared in Iraqi Dinar and be based on activities described in the application.

The total budget amount will be paid in a series of instalments, including an initial start-up advance and subsequent instalments based on deliverables that show the completion of a set of activities. The expected deliverables and payment instalments will be determined by the selected organization and WfWI and will be included in the sub-grant agreement.

1. Duration

The implementation period should cover a period of a maximum 8 months, with an estimated start-date of July 8th 2025. The project implementation end date should not exceed February 28th, 2026

1. Eligibility Criteria

In order to receive funding under this RFA, an organization must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• The organization's vision, mission, and values must align with principles of inclusion and the advancement of WPS objectives in Iraq. The organization must be a national non-governmental organization officially registered with the government in Iraq or Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
• Priority will be given to women-led and women rights organizations.  
• The organization must be able to demonstrate that it has received funding from an external source in the past two years and is receiving support from the community in which it is working.
• The organization must have experience in implementing projects related to the themes listed out under section II.
• The organisation must demonstrate their capacity to manage grants or include in their proposal self-identified areas in which they require capacity strengthening support to be addressed during the delivery of this project.
• Upon receipt of the completed application materials, WfWI will screen applications to assess conformity with the eligibility criteria described above and will carry out further due diligence checks.

1. VI. Application Submission 

1. Application Process

To apply for a grant, the organization must submit an application package that includes a proposal and timeline, a detailed budget with narrative description, and a self-completed eligibility checklist. Applications can be submitted in English, Arabic or Kurdish. Applications will be welcomed from organizations who were not successful in the first round of bids.

When starting your application, you will be prompted to name your application. Please include your project theme and governorates in which you will be implementing. For example. “Elections and GBV – Duhok and Halabja”. 

2. Proposal and Timeline -This information will be input directly into the application portal through a series of questions. 

• Detailed contact information for the organization
• Summary of context and gender analysis
• Project information (goal, outcomes, outputs, activities, targets and indicators)
• Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
• Project partners and key stakeholders
• Project personnel
• Management capacity (including past projects)
• Timeline - you will be prompted to upload this as a separate document, can be found in Annex I
• Statement of Liability - you will be prompted to upload this as a separate document, can be found in Annex II

3. Detailed Budget with narrative description (guidelines and template can be found in Annex III)
4. Partner Eligibility Checklist -This information will be input directly into the application portal through a series of questions 
5. Provide copies of:

• NGO Registration Certificate - you will be prompted to upload this document
• Recent audited financial report or statement of annual budget - you will be prompted to upload this document

1. VII. Submission Deadline and Method 

Applications must be submitted through WfWI Partnerships Portal.

For any questions relating to this RFA, or support on the application process please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

Applications must be received no later than 2nd June 2025 at 16:00hrs, Iraq time.

Applications submitted after 2nd June 2025 at16:00hrs, Iraq time, or submitted through other channels will not be considered. After the initial submission, WfWI may contact the organization to ask questions for clarification, make suggestions for revisions, and/or request additional organizational materials as part of a due-diligence process and corroboration of the eligibility checklist.

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2. VIII. Proposal Evaluation Criteria 

Applications will be evaluated based on the criteria below. 

[1] Themes and locations will also be taken into account in the final selection of partner to ensure a balanced spread across themes and governates.

1. IX. Program Monitoring 

Once grants have been awarded, WfWI-Iraq will maintain an oversight and monitoring role throughout the grant period, which may include site visits, periodic conference calls, as well as triangulating with other key stakeholders in [19 governorates of Iraq]. As per capacity needs identified through the RFA, WfWI will provide grant management support and technical assistance to the grant recipients.

1. IX. Reporting 

Grantees will be expected to provide periodic narrative and financial reports showing progress against planned activities and budgeted expenses. The narrative and financial reporting schedule will be included in the grant agreement.

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Please apply through this link below:

WfWI Partnerships Portal

Tender's Files

 WfWI Partnerships Portal