In a recent article from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, journalist Neda Shukur calls attention to the efforts of women leaders in Baghdad to improve struggling education systems in the war-torn nation. Female provincial councilors, who comprise 11 posts of the 57-member council elected in February, are uniting from various political parties on the issue of education reform, urging that the comprehensive improvement of national education systems be a top priority of the administrative body.

Mahdia Abdulhussein, a former teacher, grew so frustrated with the condition of schools in Baghdad that she ran for a seat in the provincial council, and won, with the central aim of advocating for reform initiatives to address “outdated curricula, the high drop out rate, and the deteriorating quality of education in Baghdad.” Abdulhussein serves on the council’s education and civil society committees, where she presses for “improved services and security in schools,” as well as “guaranteeing electricity for three hours and providing transport and clean drinking water for students.”

Overcrowded and crumbling school buildings often place the burdens of inadequate funding and a lack of infrastructure directly on students’ shoulders. Arabic teacher Nisrin Hadi Jawad explained in an interview that students in some schools have “cleaning classes,” during which they do the work of absent janitorial staff “due to salary budget shortfalls.”

The 11 female councilors have reportedly “had to battle for respect in politics as they did in the workplace,” struggling to shrug off prejudice and the perception that they are less qualified “because they came to power under a quota system that was supposed to set aside 25 percent of seats for female candidates.” With only 11 seats, women make up nearly 20 percent of the council, and despite differences in politics, have banded together by sharing “the same goals,” the most prominent of which is reforming education systems within Iraq.

Baghdad Women Leaders Fight for Education-Institute of War and Peace Reporting