WUNRN
Female provincial councillors say top priorities are schools and children.
By Neda Shukur in Baghdad (ICR No. 304, 07-Sep-09)
Mahdia
Abdulhussein’s frustration with the Baghdad school system drove her to stand
for the provincial council, where she is fighting alongside other women members
to advance education and children’s issues.
Abdulhussein, whose background is in education, said her primary mission is to
improve the quality of schools devastated by war and provide more support for
students and teachers.
“There are many failures in curricula that impact education and students,” she
said.
Her passion for education reform is shared by many of the 11 women on Baghdad’s
57-member provincial council. Many of the women served as teachers before
moving into politics.
In interviews conducted by IWPR since the administrative body for the capital
was elected in February, female council members from different political
parties reported that they share many of the same goals, including developing
education and pressing for an improved quality of life for their constituents –
especially children and women.
Abdulhussein, who serves on the council’s education and civil society
committees, said she is particularly concerned about outdated curricula, the
high dropout rate and the deteriorating quality of education in Baghdad.
According to a 2007 report by the Baghdad provincial council, 13 per cent of
secondary students in the province had dropped out of school, and 12 per cent
of children never completed their elementary education.
Iraq’s education system has suffered following years of war and sanctions.
Baghdad does not have enough schools, the student-teacher ratio is high and
students often study in deplorable conditions, women provincial council members
told IWPR.
Nisrin Hadi Jawad, an Arabic teacher and one of the youngest members of the
provincial council, was shocked to learn that some schools have “cleaning
classes” during which students work during school hours as janitors.
“This is occurring in many schools because they don’t have cleaning staff due
to salary budget shortfalls,” she said. “I just need to ask those who are
responsible for this, ‘Why should the child be burdened?’”
Jawad, 32, said the cleaning classes were a “dangerous sign” of deteriorating
education.
A self-described champion of the underclass, she said one of her first tasks
was cleaning up garbage in Shuala, an impoverished district where she lives.
As a teacher, Jawad said she is aware of deficiencies in schools. She has
visited many in Baghdad and discovered some do not have teachers specialising
in key subjects such as English and mathematics.
Crumbling educational infrastructure is also a serious issue that women
provincial council members have pledged to tackle. Many schools and colleges
lack water and electricity, and buildings have been neglected or damaged due to
violence.
Schools struggle with overcrowding as Baghdad’s young population grows, placing
increased pressure on buildings that are already in disrepair. In its 2007
report the provincial council made building and reconstructing schools its top
educational priorities, but little progress has been made.
“The quality and infrastructure of the schools in many parts of Baghdad do not
meet health standards. Most of them are run down and in need of maintenance and
repair,” said Basima Abdulameer, a provincial council member who served as a
school supervisor.
“I’m sorry to say that most of the schools are in ruins because of wars and the
recent wave of violence,” she added.
Abdulhussein said she pressed for improved services and security in schools
during final exams, including guaranteeing electricity for three hours and
providing transport and clean drinking water for students.
Council member Iman al-Barazanchi, a European history professor at Baghdad
University, said higher education faces similar problems. Baghdad also attracts
many students from other provinces but they are forced to reside in
poor-quality housing that lacks services.
She has proposed taxing visitors to religious sites in Iraq, the country’s main
source of tourism, and using the money to boost the quality of life for
students.
Despite their efforts and their professional accomplishments, the women have
had to battle for respect in politics as they did in the workplace. Some have
been dismissed as unqualified because they came to power under a quota system
that was supposed to set aside 25 per cent of seats for female candidates.
In fact, only 11 of the 57 seats – or 20 per cent - were allocated to women.
“Iraqi society cannot accept the role of women in politics,” Barazanchi said.
“In fact they still think that people only seek seats to earn more money … If
men face so many difficulties in the political world, then [think] about what
women face.”
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