Empowering Widows in Diwaniyah

Diwaniyah | November 22, 2009

Empowering Widows in Diwaniyah

The Diwaniyah Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) is sponsoring the training of widows in various skills to support their economic independence, implementing an idea of Diwaniyah Provincial Council Member and Head of the Human Rights Committee Mrs. Wedad Hatem Hashen.

In the program the widows receive training in sewing and business entrepreneurship,  The training was conceived to help widows from the Iraq war to be economically self sufficient. The training, which will be conducted over a four-month period, is being implemented by the local NGO the Iraq Women Foundation for Diwaniyah.

The training helps the women learn how to make clothes and start their own small tailoring shops. There will be two classes for a total of 80 widows. The first class for 40 widows, which just recently began, will conduct the training during the first two months, and then the second group will follow.

Observing the first few days of training, Mrs. Wedad said, "I am overwhelmed with the response we are having. We prepared the training for 80 widows.  However, close to 250 widows have approached me to sign up for the training. For instance, a woman just came in now that picks up garbage to feed her 11 children. She doesn't have shoes to wear because she can't afford them."

The widows are discovering that they can become self-sufficient by making clothes and selling them on the local market. Another important part of the training is the moral support they receive from their fellow classmates. Many of the widows share the same stories of abuse, and during the training they have an opportunity to talk about their problems.