WUNRN
International Museum of Women - IMOW
Iraq
Widows Organization: Rebuilding and Giving Hope
Moving
From Silent Victims of War Toward Economic
International
Museum of Women Global Council member Rajaa Khuzai argues that the
hundreds of thousands of widows in
More than
three million Iraqi men have been killed in the Iraq War since 2003, leaving
behind nearly 740,000 widows and an inestimable number of children. When
suddenly left without a husband, newly widowed women have few resources and
very little idea of what to do next. The same social customs that kept many of
them from being educated as young women now prevent them from working as
adults, despite the fact that many are in acute economic need. Begging widows
have become commonplace in Iraqi cities. Government aid has all but run out and
few options for alternative forms of assistance from NGOs or local
organizations exist.
In my career as an ob-gyn, I
cared for women every day. My patients trusted me and told me not only their
medical problems, but also their social woes. Through my patients, it became
clear that the number of widows in
According to the United Nations,
at the height of the Iraq War as many as 100 women were widowed each day. It is
estimated that one Iraqi woman in 11 is a widow. Many live in horrible
conditions; an estimated 25 percent don't have daily access to water, and
others live on the streets or in public parks with their children. About 40
percent can't afford to send their children to school.
As the number of widows has
increased, the already nominal amount of government aid available has been
stretched thin. Only one-sixth of Iraqi widows receive federal aid, amounting
to between $34 and $81 a month. In order to receive such benefits a widow must
be well-connected or enter into a "temporary marriage" based on sex
with one of the bureaucrats who distribute the funds. Even then, this paltry
amount does not come close to covering a family's needs, so many widows are
forced to work as servants, beg, or ask their families for help. Some have
become prostitutes, while others have joined the insurgency in exchange for
money.
The Iraqi Widows' Organization is
one of the few resources available to Iraqi widows. Since our inception in
2004, we have begun a micro-credit program to provide loans, created literacy
classes, and organized conferences where widows can come together and think of
solutions to their common problems. Since many widows have little to no formal
education and no marketable job skills, we've begun training programs for
computer science, sewing and marketing. We also encourage women to get involved
in the political process by holding education sessions about local elections
and the Iraqi constitution. In the last election, we trained 42 women to participate
in election monitoring at their local polls.
As a result, the widows we work
with at
On Aug. 19, 2008--known as
"Bloody Wednesday"--a terrorist bombing killed at least 110 people
and injured more than 1300, many of them seriously. That single day raised the
number of widows sharply. The terrible destruction made me realize that
widowhood in
No amount of education or
assistance can fully heal the damages these women have suffered through losing
their husbands and being marginalized in their own society.
To learn more about Rajaa Khuzai
and her fight for Iraqi women's rights, read "Reflections
on Iraq," a story featured in I.M.O.W.'s exhibition Women, Power and
Politics.
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