Shafaq News
The joy of worker Doaa Khalid over her pregnancy did notlast long. As soon as her employer in the private sector learned she wasexpecting, she was dismissed, her job stripped away under what she describes asflimsy justifications —including claims that pregnancy would expose her torepeated health problems and force her to take frequent leave.
What happened to Dohaa happens in most of Iraq’s privatesector work; many women find themselves pushed out of work the moment employersdiscover they are pregnant, a pattern that reflects a deeper and moresystematic violation of women’s labor rights.
Doaa recalled being stunned by the decision, which camewhile her colleagues were congratulating her on her first pregnancy. “On thesame day, before the end of the working hours, they informed me that myservices were no longer needed,” she recounted to Shafaq News, adding that heremployer openly rejected the idea of hiring pregnant women, arguing that theynegatively affect productivity.
For many women, the private sector offers little sense ofsecurity. According to numerous workers interviewed by Shafaq News, women arepaid less than men, confined to low- and medium-wage jobs, and rarely givenopportunities to reach senior positions. Beyond that, they often face arbitraryand humiliating conditions that turn workplaces into hostile environmentsrather than sources of empowerment.
Ghaida Rashid, who worked as a saleswoman in a commercialshop, described leaving her job after enduring conditions she characterized asdegrading and exhausting. “We were not allowed to sit, answer our personalphones, or take more than half an hour for lunch,” she recalled. “I used toleave work at 10:00 p.m., get home completely exhausted, and collapse intosleep.”
Ruaa Ahmed, a mother of three, outlined a similar pattern ofexclusion. Despite her long experience and specialized skills, she explainedthat employers routinely turn her away once they learn she is married withchildren. “Their ready-made answer is always the same: we don’t want a workerwith children because she will be tied to them and won’t fully dedicate herselfto work,” she added.
For Malak Al-Maliki, the challenge takes a different form. Working at a kindergarten, she earned just 150,000 Iraqi dinars a month (about$115), a wage she accepted only because job opportunities are scarce. Recentlygraduated, she found that private companies demand at least five years ofexperience, effectively closing the door on young women attempting to enter thelabor market.
A Stark Picture
These personal accounts unfold against a bleak nationalpicture. Iraq ranks among the lowest countries in the world in femaleparticipation in the labor force. According to a 2024 World Health Organization(WHO) report, Iraqi men make up about 76.7% of the labor force, while womenaccount for only 12.1%. At least one-third of women are unemployed, comparedwith unemployment rates ranging between 11 and 14% among men.
Last year, many political parties in Iraq used InternationalWomen’s Day to call for equal pay between men and women in the private sector,drawing attention to what they described as entrenched discrimination.
The contrast becomes sharper when Iraq is placed in aregional and international context. In the same report, the WHO pointed outthat across the Arab world, female labor force participation averaged around19%, still low by global standards but notably higher than Iraq’s. In Europe,by contrast, more than half of working-age women are economically active,reflecting decades of policies that protect working mothers and treat pregnancyas a shared social responsibility rather than a workplace burden.
In European Union countries, the law guarantees pregnantwomen job protection, workplace safety measures, and paid maternity leavelasting at least 14 weeks, with many states offering longer leave periods andadditional parental support. Across much of the Arab region, maternityprotections remain limited, enforcement uneven, and employers often shoulderthe costs alone —a factor frequently cited to justify discrimination.
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Rights on Paper
In Iraq, these legal protections exist largely on paper. Walid Naama, head of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions, explained to ShafaqNews that wages are determined by effort and output, noting that many womenwork in administrative, accounting, or technical roles, which pay less thanphysically demanding outdoor jobs typically carried out by men under harshconditions.
“There is no difference in wages if both men and womenperform the same administrative, technical, or financial work,” Naamamaintained, stressing that Union Law No. 37 guarantees women in the privatesector the right to paid maternity leave. He added that union committeesoversee labor markets, document violations, and pursue lawsuits againstemployers who breach regulations, referring cases to labor courts to safeguardworkers’ rights and improve workplace safety.
Civil society organizations, however, argue that enforcementremains weak and that women continue to bear the consequences. MariamAl-Fartousi, head of the Yalla Organization for Women, Family, and Children,pointed out that women are more likely to leave work due to pregnancy,childbirth, childcare responsibilities, and deeply rooted social biases.
“Men can work until late at night, but women often cannot,and this is one of the reasons behind wage disparities,” she explained, notingthat many women avoid confrontation and refrain from demanding their rights,encouraging employers to withhold wages or impose unfair conditions, unlikemen, who are more likely to insist on their entitlements.
In Muthanna province, the situation is even harsher. Al-Fartousi observed that many women became family breadwinners after years ofconflict left households without male providers. Under economic pressure, womenaccept any work available, including physically demanding jobs in brickfactories, despite extremely low wages and harsh conditions. Fear of dismissal,she added, discourages many from demanding better pay or treatment in theabsence of effective legal protection.
Despite repeated appeals by civil society organizations toensure safe working environments and protect women’s dignity, responses fromauthorities remain limited.
Business Calculations
From the employers’ perspective, the issue is frameddifferently. Ali Abbas, a clothing store owner in Baghdad’s Al-Bayaa district,acknowledged that he frequently replaces female workers. “We do not intend todiscriminate between men and women,” he remarked, “but the nature ofprivate-sector work imposes different calculations.”
Many businesses, he argued, require long working hours,uninterrupted attendance, and constant availability —conditions he described aseasier to maintain with male employees.
Maintaining that wages are based on endurance, ability, andconsistency rather than gender, Abbas noted that women often leave work due tomarriage or pregnancy, leading to financial losses and repeated training costs.
Restrictions on pregnancy, he concluded, stem not fromdiscrimination but from the realities of small businesses that cannot absorbprolonged absences or afford temporary replacements.
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Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.