Imagine you’re a girl in Iraq with big dreams. You’ve got a plan for your life: get through high school, go to college, then have a successful career. But what happens if you can’t even finish high school because your parents can’t afford it? What do you do when you are forced into marriage just for the money? Unfortunately, this happens to be reality for many girls and women in Iraq. The treatment of women in society in Iraq differs from the treatment of women in society in the US in the sense that Iraq society tends to be more oppressive towards women than US society tends to be. Education is an important aspect of life for boys and girls alike in Iraq. However, education and educational opportunities for girls and women in Iraq have been on a rollercoaster since
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The Ba’ath party controlled Iraq beginning in 1968, and with this control came several gains for women in the area of job opportunities. This party let women into “universities, government and public employment sectors” (Brown). As the 1970s went on, women in Iraq had even more job opportunities. By 1976, women made up “38.5 percent of the education profession, 31 percent of the medical profession, 25 percent of lab technicians, 15 percent of accountants, and 15 percent of civil servants” (“Background”). In the 1980s, the job market for women in Iraq expanded a bit more, because women took over men’s jobs when they left to fight in the military (Olson). However, by the 21st century, the job market for women in Iraq narrowed, especially with the arrival of the Iraq War. Women had the ability to work in markets and work as street vendors, but it was common for women not to, because they were afraid they would be attacked (Looney). The situation of women being unable to work due to fear of attack shows another layer of oppression against
The Ba’ath party controlled Iraq beginning in 1968, and with this control came several gains for women in the area of job opportunities. This party let women into “universities, government and public employment sectors” (Brown). As the 1970s went on, women in Iraq had even more job opportunities. By 1976, women made up “38.5 percent of the education profession, 31 percent of the medical profession, 25 percent of lab technicians, 15 percent of accountants, and 15 percent of civil servants” (“Background”). In the 1980s, the job market for women in Iraq expanded a bit more, because women took over men’s jobs when they left to fight in the military (Olson). However, by the 21st century, the job market for women in Iraq narrowed, especially with the arrival of the Iraq War. Women had the ability to work in markets and work as street vendors, but it was common for women not to, because they were afraid they would be attacked (Looney). The situation of women being unable to work due to fear of attack shows another layer of oppression against