Fatouma, the invisible warrioress of Mosul
Fatouma's life paints a portrait of resilience, determination, and eventual triumph despite numerous challenges, from her early days in Mosul to her struggles with familial opposition and personal tragedies. Her story is one of transformation, marked by her participation in a savings group facilitated by World Vision Iraq, which empowered her to establish a successful home-based business.
Fatouma was sitting quietly in the small atelier within the confines of her home on the east side of Mosul. Here she has lived and worked since the early days of her marriage. Wearing her dark navy hijab, the sun from the window lit her face softly. Her wrinkled hands told a story of years of hard work, sacrifice, and persistence.
Early Struggles and Family Sacrifice
Fatouma has a strong sense of pride in all she has done for her family, especially for her children. She is particularly proud that her children continued their education and are studying at university. Continuing education is something Fatouma missed out on.
But the journey was not easy for Fatouma. There were lots of obstacles, difficulties, and suffering. She keeps much of the pain to herself, alongside which is her bittersweet feeling of having overcome, throughout life’s long journey.
It all started when she had to leave secondary school to help make ends meet for her family of fourteen. Fatouma’s family lived in a rented home on the west side of Mosul and endured severe financial difficulties. Little Fatouma, the second eldest of all her siblings, sought a friendly neighbour to help her find a job. Her neighbour soon told her of an opportunity in a sock-making factory and she immediately landed the job. Her father strongly opposed Fatouma’s work and often verbally abused her, urging her to leave the factory. Fatouma shared, “My father kept telling me that girls in our family don’t get to work. I struggled but persisted for six years.”
Fatouma had her mother on her side. Fatouma’s mother always supported her and defended her when her father was condemning her. Fatouma’s father relented a little when he visited the factory and saw that there were lots of other girls and women just like Fatouma working there. Moreover, Fatouma contributed a lot to the family. She was using her whole income to pay for the rent of their family home. Fatouma used to work from seven in the morning to two in the afternoon. It was not easy, but it made her feel purposeful being able to give back to her family. Fatouma said, “When working and helping my family, I felt comfort. But when he was verbally abusing me, I would feel sad.” She continued, “I feel sad that now all my friends have become teachers, doctors and graduates. But I am also thankful for everything.”
Fatouma continued working in the factory for six years until she got married at eighteen and moved to live with her husband in her in-law’s family on the east side of Mosul.
Fatouma shared, “Every woman is happy to marry, but I was only married for eighteen days when my brother got killed in the Iran-Iraq conflict. I was pregnant then and I became paralysed in my lower extremities for one year.”
For almost one year she could not stand on her feet. She asked her husband to leave her for good and to marry another woman, but her husband stood steadfastly by her side. After delivering her first son, Fatouma miraculously started to walk again. The doctor then told her that her paralysis was due to the shock of the news of losing her brother in the conflict.
During those days, living at her in-laws’ house, her mother-in-law taught her a lot about baking and housekeeping. Then, her family grew bigger, and she moved to live with her husband and children in a house of their own. These days were very difficult for Fatouma. She recalls, “The most difficult day was the day I didn’t have an onion. I felt so ashamed to knock on my neighbour’s door and ask for an onion. I didn’t have anything at home. I went to my parents home and I was ashamed to ask them as well. Then eventually I went to a neighbour telling them that my son craved an onion and I got some from them and made food for my family.”
Empowerment through Economic Independence
For nine years, Fatouma’s husband didn’t have a job. She started to bake bread and sew mattresses and blankets for people in her neighbourhood. Through the income she received, she was eventually able to buy a sewing machine. Yet a few years later, she had to sell her machine as she had to pay for heart surgery for herself.
Last year, Fatouma learned through a neighbour about a savings group that was run by World Vision Iraq. Savings Groups comprise community members who agree to save and deposit a certain amount of money periodically into the savings. By turn, each member gets the right to withdraw the sum of money after a certain period and the cycle continues for each member. For Fatouma, she was part of a group of eight members and she invested money in the savings group for one year. Twice a month, she deposited a small amount of money into the savings.
Eventually, after a year had passed, it was her turn to withdraw money from the savings. Through the savings, she bought a new sewing machine. Now Fatouma has contracted with a retailer in the market and she makes tailored pieces for them.
“Now my situation is better,” said Fatouma. “I didn’t have any items at home, and I helped my daughter with getting married by buying for her the necessary items.”
Iraqi tradition is for the bride’s family to buy her clothes and household items to help her set up her home. Meanwhile, the groom’s family offers the bride pieces of golden jewellery. Fatouma was also happy she could help her daughter cover the cost of university.
Fatouma feels happy that after she participated in the project, and through her home-based business successes, women in her community are emulating her. She noticed that other women also started to bake and tailor. Women were coming to her and asking her to teach them how to tailor. She helped two other women in her neighbourhood with tailoring and directed them to the World Vision Iraq Centre for tailoring.
Today Fatouma is 58 and has four sons and two daughters. Her eldest is 36 and her youngest is 24. She is very hopeful for the future of her children and hopes that they all get good jobs and become able to support their families on their own. Fatouma ended, “I hope they don’t go through what I went through. I am so proud to be the breadwinner of my family.”
On International Women’s Day, Fatouma shares a message to women, “I experienced darkness and pain. My message to all women: fight to support your family.”
Through the Safe Return Project, an Australian Aid initiative that World Vision Iraq implements on behalf of the Australian Government, we helped 446 women last year help themselves and each other through savings groups, and this year we will continue to support 467 women in Mosul and Hamdaniya. Through this project, we aim to create market systems that are resilient, sustainable, and inclusive. Throughout the whole project, we aim to help 1,656 women with agricultural training, business development services, financial literacy, saving groups, group problem management plus sessions, and women’s equality dialogue sessions.
According to UNDP, Iraq has one of the lowest female participation rates in the labour market, even compared to neighbouring countries that share similar traditional and social norms, with only 11.6 per cent participation. Through projects like this World Vision helps women like Fatouma have better access to economic resources and the agency that this affords them, helping them to support themselves and their families.