Fired for motherhood: The hidden toll on Iraqi women

Shafaq News

The joy of worker Doaa Khalid over her pregnancy did not last long. As soon as her employer in the private sector learned she was expecting, she was dismissed, her job stripped away under what she describes as flimsy justifications —including claims that pregnancy would expose her to repeated health problems and force her to take frequent leave.

What happened to Dohaa happens in most of Iraq’s private sector work; many women find themselves pushed out of work the moment employers discover they are pregnant, a pattern that reflects a deeper and more systematic violation of women’s labor rights.

Doaa recalled being stunned by the decision, which came while her colleagues were congratulating her on her first pregnancy. “On the same day, before the end of the working hours, they informed me that my services were no longer needed,” she recounted to Shafaq News, adding that her employer openly rejected the idea of hiring pregnant women, arguing that they negatively affect productivity.

For many women, the private sector offers little sense of security. According to numerous workers interviewed by Shafaq News, women are paid less than men, confined to low- and medium-wage jobs, and rarely given opportunities to reach senior positions. Beyond that, they often face arbitrary and humiliating conditions that turn workplaces into hostile environments rather than sources of empowerment.

Ghaida Rashid, who worked as a saleswoman in a commercial shop, described leaving her job after enduring conditions she characterized as degrading and exhausting. “We were not allowed to sit, answer our personal phones, or take more than half an hour for lunch,” she recalled. “I used to leave work at 10:00 p.m., get home completely exhausted, and collapse into sleep.”

Ruaa Ahmed, a mother of three, outlined a similar pattern of exclusion. Despite her long experience and specialized skills, she explained that employers routinely turn her away once they learn she is married with children. “Their ready-made answer is always the same: we don’t want a worker with children because she will be tied to them and won’t fully dedicate herself to 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. Recently graduated, she found that private companies demand at least five years of experience, effectively closing the door on young women attempting to enter the labor market.

A Stark Picture

These personal accounts unfold against a bleak national picture. Iraq ranks among the lowest countries in the world in female participation 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 women account for only 12.1%. At least one-third of women are unemployed, compared with unemployment rates ranging between 11 and 14% among men.

Last year, many political parties in Iraq used International Women’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 a regional and international context. In the same report, the WHO pointed out that across the Arab world, female labor force participation averaged around 19%, 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 pregnancy as a shared social responsibility rather than a workplace burden.

In European Union countries, the law guarantees pregnant women job protection, workplace safety measures, and paid maternity leave lasting at least 14 weeks, with many states offering longer leave periods and additional parental support. Across much of the Arab region, maternity protections remain limited, enforcement uneven, and employers often shoulder the costs alone —a factor frequently cited to justify discrimination.

Read more: IVF in Iraq: Hope, heartbreak, and hurdles

Rights on Paper

In Iraq, these legal protections exist largely on paper. Walid Naama, head of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions, explained to Shafaq News that wages are determined by effort and output, noting that many women work in administrative, accounting, or technical roles, which pay less than physically demanding outdoor jobs typically carried out by men under harsh conditions.

“There is no difference in wages if both men and women perform the same administrative, technical, or financial work,” Naama maintained, stressing that Union Law No. 37 guarantees women in the private sector the right to paid maternity leave. He added that union committees oversee labor markets, document violations, and pursue lawsuits against employers who breach regulations, referring cases to labor courts to safeguard workers’ rights and improve workplace safety.

Civil society organizations, however, argue that enforcement remains weak and that women continue to bear the consequences. Mariam Al-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, noting that many women avoid confrontation and refrain from demanding their rights, encouraging employers to withhold wages or impose unfair conditions, unlike men, 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 of conflict left households without male providers. Under economic pressure, women accept any work available, including physically demanding jobs in brick factories, despite extremely low wages and harsh conditions. Fear of dismissal, she added, discourages many from demanding better pay or treatment in the absence of effective legal protection.

Despite repeated appeals by civil society organizations to ensure safe working environments and protect women’s dignity, responses from authorities remain limited.

Business Calculations

From the employers’ perspective, the issue is framed differently. Ali Abbas, a clothing store owner in Baghdad’s Al-Bayaa district, acknowledged that he frequently replaces female workers. “We do not intend to discriminate between men and women,” he remarked, “but the nature of private-sector work imposes different calculations.”

Many businesses, he argued, require long working hours, uninterrupted attendance, and constant availability —conditions he described as easier to maintain with male employees.

Maintaining that wages are based on endurance, ability, and consistency rather than gender, Abbas noted that women often leave work due to marriage or pregnancy, leading to financial losses and repeated training costs.

Restrictions on pregnancy, he concluded, stem not from discrimination but from the realities of small businesses that cannot absorb prolonged absences or afford temporary replacements.

Read more: Iraqi women shift to government jobs: 14% workforce participation amid rising harassment

Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.