July 10, 2010
1 million widows struggle in Iraq
BAGHDAD -- Three decades of wars, massacres and sectarian killings have left Iraq with as many as a million widows, by Iraqi government count. More than 100,000 have lost their husbands in the U.S.-led invasion and violent aftermath.
The struggling postwar government is of little help.
"We have a disastrously high number of widows," said Jinan Mubarak, head of a nongovernmental organization that works to educate women and train them for jobs. "It has a serious social dimension, and there are also the orphans to worry about."
Women's activists say poverty is driving some Iraqi women into prostitution, both in Iraq and in neighboring Jordan and Syria.
The post-U.S. invasion violence has shrunk the pool of potential husbands for widows as well as single women over 30. The economy is in trouble, yet the housing market is hot, making housing unaffordable for many.
"The economic crisis is the core cause of all the women's problems in Iraq," said Mubarak.
AP
