Small Business, Dream Big: Iraqi Women Entrepreneurs

“We have social traditions that prevent many women from working,” Adele said at her studio in Baghdad’s Karada commercial district.

Even those who do, “it’s not always so easy,” she added.

The International Organization for Migration said in its October report that “common customs and traditions limit women’s activities to domestic and nurturing roles.”

Adele said such prejudices and practical difficulties became a challenge in realizing her dreams.

A graduate of the University of Baghdad specializing in fashion and design, Adele wanted to create her own fashion house.

“I went to see the patrons of organizations that support arts and culture, but my ideas were systematically rejected because I had no experience in conceptualizing projects,” she said. .

Thanks to The Station, an Iraqi foundation, and the Raidat (Women Entrepreneurs) program funded by the French Embassy in Baghdad, Adele received training and gained the confidence to start her own business, she said. I was.

Iraq’s private sector is still in its infancy, so the procedure for setting up a company is more cumbersome and time-consuming.

The country, which is overcoming four decades of war and unrest, is also plagued by rampant corruption, rampant unemployment and a poverty rate of around 30%.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), nearly 38% of those with jobs work in Iraq’s public sector. This is his one of the highest rates in the world.

Ultimately, Adele got a loan from a private bank and launched a brand called ‘Alaa Adel’ last summer.

Initially, she said she had to deal with sexism from some fabric suppliers who were reluctant to do business with women.

After that, there was a shortage of public childcare facilities. A country where tradition says mothers should stay at home to care for their children until they go to school.

Adele enlisted the help of her family to look after her two sons, ages 9 and 4, while she was working.

There are 13 million women of working age in Iraq, but “only about one million are still working,” said Maha Kattar, the ILO’s country coordinator, who published a report last July.

The ILO reported that the labor force participation rate for women was “particularly low” at 10.6%, compared with 68% for men.

In contrast, neighboring Saudi Arabia, which until a few years ago was one of the most restrictive countries for women in the world, had a female labor force participation rate of 35.6% in the second quarter of 2022.

Most of the women working in Iraq are teachers or nurses. Rarely are members of the police or military.

For Shumoos Ghanem, men “dominate many sectors, while women are marginalized”.

This 34-year-old woman is the owner of a diet food business and the founder of the Iraqi Women in Business initiative, which provides professional guidance to women online. She is also a mother to a 14-month-old son.

Ghanem says most of the women she advises are mothers who have lost their labor force, “and wonder if society will accept them as working women again.”

Over the past five or six years, Iraqi women have had more opportunities, but they “still have very limited room to develop,” she said.

“Some regions are more traditional than others,” she added. This further limits the opportunities for women to “build a career or start a project.”

Surrounded by men, Ghanem said he himself experienced sexism and worried about harassment.

“The first time I went to meet with a supplier, I really realized how complicated it was,” she recalled.

Now she works from home, but she also has a dream. To have her own health-conscious restaurant and help elevate the status of women business women in Iraq.

“I want to make it a place to support women who want to work in this industry,” she said.