“Harassment” and “low wages” behind the “decline” in Iraqi women’s representation in the labor marke

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[size=52]“Harassment” and “low wages” behind the “decline” in Iraqi women’s representation in the labor market[/size]

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2024-09-02
Baghdad
Many obstacles prevent women from helping to save the faltering Iraqi economy, which could use the power of women as a basic economic engine to maintain its cohesion.[/size]
[size=45]Today, Monday, the head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, Fadhel Al-Gharawi, revealed that the percentage of women’s representation in the labor market has decreased to 14%, which is less than the global average of 20%, while he indicated that the percentage of families supported by women is about 11%.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Gharawi said in a statement received by “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” a copy of it, “These statistics are issued by the International Labor Organization, and they indicate that there are 13 million women of working age in Iraq, of whom only one million are working, and 70% of them work in the government sector, and the number of women working in the private sector does not exceed 300 thousand women.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Gharawi considered that “this is a dangerous indicator that everyone should pay attention to and try to understand the reasons for women’s reluctance to enter the private sector labor market.”[/size]
[size=45]“According to a World Bank report, the participation of Iraqi women in the labor market is considered low, as it constitutes less than 15% only,” he added, noting that “according to statistics from the Ministry of Planning, the public and governmental sector is the most attractive sector for women’s participation, as the percentage was about 78% compared to the rest of the sectors, which constituted only 21% in the private sector, noting that most of the women working in the private sector are rural women.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Gharawi stressed that “the most important violations indicated against women in the private labor market are low wages, increased working hours, employing women in dangerous jobs, especially in factories, and the presence of cases of harassment during work,” calling on the government to “launch a national policy to employ women in the labor market and enhance protection and equality for them.”[/size]
[size=45]Stories of harassment of female applicants for work in the private sector are repeated, so girls think a thousand times before applying for work in any private establishment, and they do not work there unless they are forced to, even if the employer is committed to his behavior and prevents any attempts at harassment, as the general view of society has come to see every private establishment as a trap for girls.[/size]
[size=45]According to specialists, Iraqi law is unable to confront the problem of harassment, as its articles (400, 401, 402) date back to 1969, which came under the title of crimes against morality, and have not been amended since that time.[/size]
[size=45]Government statistics indicate that 87 percent of women do not have the willingness or desire to enter the labor market.[/size]
[size=45]In contrast, feminist activists reject this interpretation, stressing that the government and state institutions are not doing enough to create a legal, social and economic work environment that is comfortable and attractive to women.[/size]
[size=45]Activist Saadia Al-Tamimi confirmed in a previous report for “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” that “there are many difficulties that ‘repel’ women from the labor market, which pushes them to leave their jobs.”[/size]
[size=45]“This starts with male harassment and blackmail in the public sphere, as no Iraqi government has sought to establish deterrent laws for this, and the investments implemented or permitted by the Iraqi government are made without requiring any female quota in these projects, especially in the technical, tourism and service sectors,” she added, noting that the economic structure in Iraq is controlled by the central political parties, and the majority of these central parties are conservative and do not prefer any presence of women in the labor market.[/size]
[size=45]Sexual harassment is defined as bullying, coercion into physical action, or an inappropriate or unwelcome promise of rewards in exchange for sexual services. It can be verbal, physical (emotional), social, and economic harassment, and according to observers, it is a growing phenomenon in Iraqi government institutions as well as the private sector.[/size]
[size=45]Lawyer Safaa Al-Lami, in a previous report for “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed”, believes that the act of harassment is criminalized under the Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, in Articles (396, 397), as Article (396) stipulates that “1- Whoever assaults, by force, threat, trickery, or any other form of non-consensual assault on the honor of a male or female person, or attempts to do so, shall be punished with imprisonment for a period not exceeding seven years or with detention. 2- If the person against whom the crime was committed has not reached the age of eighteen years, or if the perpetrator is one of those referred to in paragraph (2) of Article 393, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years.”[/size]
[size=45]Article (397) also stipulates that “whoever assaults, without force, threat or deception, the honour of a male or female who has not reached the age of eighteen shall be punished by imprisonment. If the perpetrator of the crime is one of those referred to in paragraph (2) of Article (393), the penalty shall be imprisonment for a period not exceeding seven years or detention.”[/size]
[size=45]It is also mentioned that Article (402) of the same law stipulates that the (sex harasser) shall be imprisoned for three months or fined, provided that the penalty is doubled to six months in prison if the act is repeated, which experts believe is also insufficient to provide the required deterrence.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Lami states that “a major problem facing the application of laws against harassers is the burden of proof, as the court demands that women provide evidence of the harassment incident, whether it be audio clips, text messages, or two witnesses, which is usually difficult to provide, according to his confirmation.”[/size]
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