Zakia, 32, became the first woman elected as a representative in the Arbat refugee camp in northern Iraq to help address the concerns of Syrian refugees. The IRC organizes camp elections every six months.
In this picture, Zakia*, a Syrian refugee, casts her ballot on Aug. 21 in the most recent round of elections in the Arbat refugee camp in northern Iraq organized by the International Rescue Committee. Every six months, residents in the IRC-run camp vote for representatives to champion their needs and improve services like sanitation, food distribution and education.