Baghdad, January 27: When she lost her husband in 2006 to raging violence, the pandemic of post-invasion Iraq, Hessa found herself totally helpless.
The mother of four went out looking for a descent job to feed her family, but nothing safe and moral was available.
“I couldn’t find a job,” Hessa, 38, told IslamOnline.net.
“The few jobs available for women are given to those who have better education than I do.”
Women in Iraq suffer from a high level of illiteracy, with nearly 25 percent of them unable to read and writing.
Hessa is one from thousands of women who are trying desperately to raise their kids but face soaring unemployment rates in the war-torn country.
“More than 80 percent of all households headed by women are widows, the majority have lost their husbands fighting or killed in attacks,” says Mayada Zuhair, activist and consultant for women NGOs.
The plight of women has spurred local rights organizations to campaign for a specific job quota for women. “We are working on a request for the creation of a specific number of jobs for women in the government and private sectors,” she told.
“If in politics women have 25 percent of seats, they also have the right from 25 to 30 percent of the jobs available in the country.”
According to the UN and women activists in Iraq, female employees represent less than 18 percent of the labour force.
The UN and NGOs estimate that nearly 28 percent of Iraqis aged between 15 and 29 are unemployed.
Government sources, however, estimate the unemployment rate at 40 percent.
“Unacceptable”
The government, however, sees the demand for a women job quota as impractical.
“They could ask for more attention, but never guarantee a certain number of places for them,” Abdel-Raoof Muhammed, a senior Ministry of Municipality official, told.
He noted that the issue is not about gender equality but rather the reality of working force in the Arab country.
The majority of households in Iraq are men, he maintains, and 30 percent of jobs allocated to women represent ten times more than the number of female households.
“Imagine if you have a man and a woman trying to have the same job but he has more skills but you cannot contract him because this place is saved for a woman.
“It is unacceptable.”
The official asserted that while the government can never accept such request, it would help women find jobs by offering them courses at centres like Women’s Support Centre in Baghdad.
Um Raid Rabia’a, a mother of three, does not know about job quotas and women rights.
She only wants a hope that her kids will not grow up as homeless and illiterate because she can not find a job.
“My husband died fighting for Iraq and no one remembered that he left a family,” cried the 35-year-old widow.
“I tried for years to find a job but wasn’t lucky enough for being an illiterate woman. I need a descent job to take care of my family.
“I see people I know selling their bodies or their girls to feed the family, but I’m a Muslim woman and I prefer to rather search for food in the rubbishes.”
-Agencies