Pandemic Restrictions Create Dream Jobs for Some Iraqi Women
2021-01-23
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1Fatima Ali was in her final year of studying when Iraq started a full lockdown in March to control the spread of the coronavirus.
2Forced by the pandemic to stay home, she spent a lot of time on social media, looking for something to do.
3Then an idea came to her.
4Six years ago, she visited America on an exchange program.
5She and other students visited a Vermont cheese factory.
6There nice, wooden plates showed different kinds of cheese.
7"I liked it...I said to myself, why not be the first to do it in Baghdad?" She took a free online business course.
8And she researched cheeses and wooden plates available in the Iraqi capital.
9Months later, 22-year-old Ali is successful.
10She sells her cheese boards, making a small amount of money.
11She also has more than 2,000 followers on the social media service Instagram.
12A growing number of Iraqi women are using pandemic restrictions to create new businesses in their homes.
13It's a way to get past the discrimination and harassment that often come with working in Iraq's society.
14It also provides additional money as the economy worsens.
15On a recent day, Ali cut up and arranged cheeses, dried fruit and nuts as she talked about her dreams.
16She wants to go to cooking school outside Iraq and open her own cooking school in the country.
17"This is just the beginning. I'm still developing myself," she said.
18The words on her purple T-shirt said, "You Have to Love Yourself."
19Rawan Al-Zubaidi is a business partner at an Iraqi non-governmental organization (NGO) that supports young business people and their new, small companies.
20There has been an increase in home businesses since the start of the pandemic.
21These include women making food deliveries, sweets and hand-made cloth products.
22It's "a solution to obstacles that Iraqi women face when they try to find a job," she said.
23She said there were many women in Iraq whose husbands or fathers would not let them work.
24"Some Iraqi women can't find a job because conservative families or husbands consider that women talking directly with other men on the job will bring shame on them," she said.
25The number of women who work in Iraq is very low.
26As of 2018, only 12.3 percent of women of working age were employed or looking for work, the United Nations reports.
27Tamara Amir manages a Facebook page to educate Iraqi women about their rights.
28She said she receives many calls each day from women facing sexual harassment at work.
29Often, they report feeling they have to give their male boss "something in return" to get a job or to advance.
30However, Ali's parents have helped her with her business.
31She said it is secure, and it also means that she does not have to go outside and mix with people.
32Her mother helps her prepare her cheese plates.
33She uses a well-known service to send her goods to buyers.
34At first, she received about two orders each week.
35Now, she gets many orders each day and works hard to complete them.
36Mariam Khzarjian is a 31-year-old Iraqi-Armenian.
37She worked as an assistant in an engineering company for seven years.
38She quit in late 2018 because she felt there was no way to improve her position.
39She started her own home business selling handmade objects inspired by her family.
40Many of the men in her past once worked as carpenters, or professional woodworkers.
41She called her business Khzar, which is Armenian for the art of cutting metals and woods.
42Its slogan is "wear a story." Khzar designs are based on telling stories and building emotional communication with the clients.
43During the pandemic, she worked on her designs.
44The move toward online shopping helped her business grow in a way she could not have imagined.
45"Online became the only way to reach clients, and they in turn became more loyal and more confident about my art, because they are buying something without trying it," Khzarjian said.
46I'm Susan Shand.
1Fatima Ali was in her final year of studying when Iraq started a full lockdown in March to control the spread of the coronavirus. Forced by the pandemic to stay home, she spent a lot of time on social media, looking for something to do. 2Then an idea came to her. Six years ago, she visited America on an exchange program. She and other students visited a Vermont cheese factory. There nice, wooden plates showed different kinds of cheese. 3"I liked it...I said to myself, why not be the first to do it in Baghdad?" She took a free online business course. And she researched cheeses and wooden plates available in the Iraqi capital. 4Months later, 22-year-old Ali is successful. She sells her cheese boards, making a small amount of money. She also has more than 2,000 followers on the social media service Instagram. 5A growing number of Iraqi women are using pandemic restrictions to create new businesses in their homes. It's a way to get past the discrimination and harassment that often come with working in Iraq's society. It also provides additional money as the economy worsens. 6On a recent day, Ali cut up and arranged cheeses, dried fruit and nuts as she talked about her dreams. She wants to go to cooking school outside Iraq and open her own cooking school in the country. 7"This is just the beginning. I'm still developing myself," she said. The words on her purple T-shirt said, "You Have to Love Yourself." 8Rawan Al-Zubaidi is a business partner at an Iraqi non-governmental organization (NGO) that supports young business people and their new, small companies. There has been an increase in home businesses since the start of the pandemic. These include women making food deliveries, sweets and hand-made cloth products. 9It's "a solution to obstacles that Iraqi women face when they try to find a job," she said. She said there were many women in Iraq whose husbands or fathers would not let them work. 10"Some Iraqi women can't find a job because conservative families or husbands consider that women talking directly with other men on the job will bring shame on them," she said. 11The number of women who work in Iraq is very low. As of 2018, only 12.3 percent of women of working age were employed or looking for work, the United Nations reports. 12Tamara Amir manages a Facebook page to educate Iraqi women about their rights. She said she receives many calls each day from women facing sexual harassment at work. Often, they report feeling they have to give their male boss "something in return" to get a job or to advance. 13However, Ali's parents have helped her with her business. She said it is secure, and it also means that she does not have to go outside and mix with people. Her mother helps her prepare her cheese plates. She uses a well-known service to send her goods to buyers. 14At first, she received about two orders each week. Now, she gets many orders each day and works hard to complete them. 15Mariam Khzarjian is a 31-year-old Iraqi-Armenian. She worked as an assistant in an engineering company for seven years. She quit in late 2018 because she felt there was no way to improve her position. She started her own home business selling handmade objects inspired by her family. Many of the men in her past once worked as carpenters, or professional woodworkers. 16She called her business Khzar, which is Armenian for the art of cutting metals and woods. Its slogan is "wear a story." Khzar designs are based on telling stories and building emotional communication with the clients. 17During the pandemic, she worked on her designs. The move toward online shopping helped her business grow in a way she could not have imagined. 18"Online became the only way to reach clients, and they in turn became more loyal and more confident about my art, because they are buying something without trying it," Khzarjian said. 19I'm Susan Shand. 20The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 21________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23lockdown -n. a state of staying at home or restricted from going places as a security measure 24plate -n. a flat round dish used for serving and eating food 25harassment - n. to annoy or bother (someone) in a constant or repeated way 26sweet - n. a cake or candy 27obstacle - n. something that makes it difficult to do something 28shame - n. a feeling of guilt, regret, or sadness that you have because you know you have done something wrong 29inspire - v. to make (someone) want to do something 30slogan - n. a word or phrase that is easy to remember and is used by a group or business to attract attention 31client - n. a customer 32confident -adj. a feeling of belief that something will turn out the way you expect it 33We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.