"I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all the women, especially the women of #Iraq, courageous women who continue to give life, in spite of wrongs and hurts. May women be respected and protected! May they be shown respect and provided with opportunities!" the pontiff tweeted.

Last week, the pope of Rome made a four-day trip to Iraq, becoming the first-ever pontiff to visit what is considered the homeland of Abraham.

During his trip, he discussed dangers of the continued exodus of Christians from the Middle East, met with Iraq's top Shiite cleric Ali Sistani, and visited the country's northern territories that had been once under control of the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia).