WOMEN’S GARAGE CHALLENGES IRAQ SOCIETY
Business is good, but workers still face ridicule and harassment
Sitting under shelves decked with dozens of brightly colored bottles of motor oil, Shadi Mohammed shouts to be heard over nearby machines. “This is Shadi’s garage!” she yells as she raises her oil-stained hands with enthusiasm, knowing she’s an anomaly in this conservative, male-dominated country.
Mohammed is an extraordinary mechanic in an ordinary garage in this Kurdish city near the border with Iran: Everyone working under the hoods of flashy pickups and all-terrain vehicles is a woman. They are earning a wage for their families and creating a mini-revolution in the process.
“I want to change the perception of society toward women and toward what they think women can do,” explained Mohammed, 45. “Show them that woman are also capable of running a garage like this — just like men do here.”
The charismatic businesswoman and former civil servant never planned to don overalls and transform herself into a mechanic. But as an economic crisis hits the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, where public sector wages have been slashed up to 75%, she needed a new way to provide for her family.
With two daughters looking to their mother as a role model, Mohammed wanted to prove that Iraqi women could have whatever career they wanted. So she decided to take on one of the most male-dominated professions — fixing cars.
“When I realized this job had never been done by women before in Iraq, it encouraged me to go ahead with the idea of running an auto-repair garage,” Mohammed told USA TODAY on a blistering hot day. “I wanted to show that women could take care of themselves, and help encourage women to gain experience in this trade.”
She also wanted to create a garage where women would feel comfortable when they bring in their vehicle without facing ridicule or harassment from men.
Three months later, and $10,000 of savings spent, she said her business is doing well, and she regrets nothing.
Mohammed says she is a self-
“I wanted to show that women could take care of themselves, and help encourage women to gain experience in this trade. ” Shadi Mohammed
taught mechanic whose fourwoman team takes on more complex jobs every day. They aim to master automotive electronics in the coming months.
Just 11% of women in Iraq’s Kurdistan region were employed last year, compared with nearly 19% in the Middle East, according to the World Bank. Only one in 100 of those women had jobs in the private sector, where men and women are more likely to interact — something frowned upon in a country where traditional gender roles are still prevalent.
Many of the women who buck this trend still end up leaving the workplace between the ages of 25 to 29 to fulfill family roles at home.
In choosing to be a mechanic, Mohammed battles sexism and ridicule daily at her garage.
During a recent visit by USA TODAY, one customer came in and lingered around Mohammed for an hour, offering gifts and later asking her to check his 4x4.
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” she said matter-of-factly after popping the hood and checking, as the vehicle owner leered behind her.
Such behavior is a daily occurrence — male customers fake vehicle problems so they can watch the female workers.
“I would not face the harassment that I am facing now if I were a man,” Mohammed said. “I am familiar with my society’s behavior. In some cases people just visit us because we have women working here.”
She said she had to hire in secret after a public attempt to find women workers was ridiculed.
Fatah Sleman, one of her employees, said she was grateful for the work and the opportunity to prove that women shouldn’t be confined to home or jobs traditionally held by women.
“I don’t want careers like this one to be occupied just by men,” said Sleman, 37. “I want to tell women, there is no difference between us and men, and that it’s our right to try different careers.”
Despite facing ridicule and ha- rassment, the women say they’re thankful for the customers who show respect and support their business. One of those customers, Aros Ghafur, said he had never before seen a garage owned and run by women but was pleased with the work they did.
“I see a clear future of success in what Shadi is doing. I have really encouraged her to keep doing her job,” said Ghafur, 31, a Sulaimani resident.
Success for Mohammed is not just increasing profits, but also inspiring other female employees. And it’s working. Sparked by Mohammed’s give-it-a-go attitude and confidence in taking on Iraqi society, her employees want to encourage other women to do the same.
Eyeing the future, Mohammed plans to hire more women and relocate her auto-repair business to a larger site, but she expects little help along the way.
“Nobody has tried to stop me or close my garage, but neither has anyone or the government helped or assisted me with it,” she said. “Maybe they don’t want to lessen gender discrimination here.”