A local Iraqi woman from the Mahmudiyah Qada stands by her table of merchandise with her son during the Women’s Bazaar hosted by Task Force 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment at Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah, Feb 17

Women of the Mahmudiyah Qada filled tables with homemade products and Iraqi souvenirs during a special bazaar on Forward Operation Base Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, Feb 17.

Sponsored by Soldiers of Task Force 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, the innovative event gave troops stationed on the southern base the opportunity to purchase items and assist neighboring Iraqi families at the same time.

“This is a great way for local women to improve their small businesses and take care of their families,” said Capt. Sara Woods, with the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion. “It also allows our Soldiers to purchase authentic Iraqi souvenirs and gifts.”

Many of the women in the Mahmudiyah area lost their husbands to insurgent violence and struggle to provide for their families; making them easy targets for insurgents. The bazaar served as a way to show them they can create a better future for their families.

“This is a good project that is helping widows and people who need the money. I am so happy to be a part of it,” said Madiha Gumar, one of the small business owners, and a member of the Mahmudiyah Women’s Group.

This is the second bazaar Soldiers of TF 1-63 CAB have had the opportunity to be involved with and was much larger and had more participants than the first. Those who took part in the bazaar felt, not only they were walking away with something to take home, but also giving back to the local Iraqi community.

“It was very beneficial in what we’re trying to do for Iraq. From a personal stand point it was really gratifying to know we were helping the widows and their children,” said Dale Hamilton, a civilian law enforcement professional attached to TF 1-63 CAB.

Although the bazaar was considered a success at the end of the day, it also presented a foundation for each woman present to continue and expand her business.

“They came in and they sold these products to the Soldiers, and I think each one of them walked out with a couple hundred dollars,” said Lt. Col. Anne Resty, a Women’s Initiative coordinator. “So now afterwards they can buy more fabric and other materials to make more products that they can sell in the local markets as well.”

The event also helped to increase the good relationship between the people of Mahmudiyah and the MND-B Soldiers stationed on FOB Mahmudiyah.

“The more they see us as helpful Americans and they get to know us, they get to know that we have children, they get to know that we have spouses, and they get to know that we’re just normal people…and the benefits are multi-faceted,” said Resty. “They’re going to think of us as normal people and that we can help them.”

MNF-I

One hundred women graduated from an adult literacy course at Al-Sharquia Secondary School for Girls in the Karadah security district of eastern Baghdad Dec. 4.

The graduates, their family members and other ceremony attendees gathered to celebrate what was the first of potentially many successful adult literacy classes.

“This is the first step of many that the Iraqi government has taken to ensure economic growth in the Karadah district,” said Capt. Sean O’Brien, non-lethal effects coordinator with 5th Battalion 25th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. “The next step is to employ them.”

Many of the graduates are widows, explained Hadeel Adel, an Iraqi non-government organization representative and advocate for women’s rights. She said the literacy course graduates will be able to use their new skills to study for a civil service examination to seek government employment.

“This is a monumental day for these women. You can see the future of Iraq in their faces,” exclaimed Adel. “These women will get jobs and relieve the stress on the local economy by providing for their families”

Adel expressed hopes for a continued partnership between the United States and Iraq and said she wishes that women’s rights in Iraq will someday mirror the rights women have in America.

Their graduation marked a successful day for these literate women of Baghdad, and now they possess the power to learn through reading.

MNF-I