In an unusual initiative ... a female demining team in Mosul and another in Basra

Iraq recently witnessed the establishment of women's teams to clear mines and remnants of war.

Among them is a team in the city of Mosul (north) and another in the city of Basra (south), in an initiative that is unique of its kind in the country.

Despite the seriousness of the task these women undertake, of removing explosives, this was not the only obstacle facing them.

But society's refusal to undertake such tasks for women was another challenge.

The women's team in Mosul came on an initiative supported by the Netherlands, where members of the team passed the training course on mine clearance.

Women in Iraq have an effective role in removing war mines for years (communication sites)

The role of women

On the Mosul demining team, Peter Smith, Director of the Iraq Program at the Swiss Foundation for Mine Affairs (FSD), says that the female members of the team are dedicated to their work, working in mine clearance and medical care, team leaders, identifying dangerous areas and awareness in addition to supporting roles such as Operations Assistant.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Smith praised the role of the feminist team, noting that it has cleared large areas of land, which were previously polluted and unfit for use by the residents, and these lands are now used for agriculture, and locals can now live their lives without fear of death or Casualty from explosive ordnance.

For his part, mine expert Qusay Al-Saadi says that mine action companies are trying to gender equality as one of the sustainable development goals.

And he notes to Al-Jazeera Net that the eastern society reduces confidence in women and their performance in working well in the field of mines and other fields.

Al-Saadi continues that women entered this field through awareness, technical survey and community contact, and it was a successful experience by contracting with the United Nations Office of Mine Affairs, and women participated in large work in Mosul.

The mine expert stresses the importance of diversity and the presence of a female component in mine awareness.

Because work hours are in the morning, and usually only women are at home, so awareness and education is through women.

Jinan believes that there are challenges that women face in the field of mine clearance (Al-Jazeera Net)

Challenges and risks

Working in the field of mine clearance is very dangerous, and there are challenges that women face in this field, as society reduces the ability of women to work in clearing mines and remnants of war, says Janan Abdul Razzaq Sultan, who works in a mine clearance company.

She added to Al-Jazeera Net that she started working in the mine field in 2006, and is still working in this field with many concerned organizations and companies.

She points out that society, with the passage of time, has somewhat accepted the work of women in this field, with the increasing number of women entering this field.

It describes work in this area as a direct confrontation with death;

Because mines do not accept any mistake, and do not give a second chance.

This is supported by Ismail Ahmed Saeed, National Director of Operations for the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action, stressing that mine clearance is one of the 10 most dangerous actions in the world.

He explains to Al-Jazeera Net that mine clearance operations are not easy;

Because it is buried and its technology is unknown;

Which requires expertise and capabilities to accomplish this work.

And he talks about other indirect dangers due to the difficult climatic conditions in Iraq;

This exposes workers to sunstroke, skin burns and dry eyes in the summer, although there are measures to reduce these risks.

Humanitarian motives

Sultan believes that what motivates women to work in this field is humanity first.

Because women are half of society, and they see deaths and amputations leading to disability, and this stimulates her human feelings, and prompts her to contribute to getting rid of this problem.

While Saeed believes that the woman's need for a financial resource to push her to work in this field, she is either the sole breadwinner for the family due to the death of her husband, or she wants to increase family income and prove herself, and this is important for building her personality, and so that she can participate in life.

He tells the story of one of the workers, who is 28 years old, divorced and responsible for a child as young as 4 years old, whose house was bombed during the military operations;

Which led to the death of her father, the only provider for her family, and here she found only one option, which is to search for work, to support her family, consisting of her daughter, her disabled brother, and her elderly mother.

She was forced to work in many fields with low wages until she was lucky, and she got a job in mine clearance to provide a good income for her family.

Al-Araji confirmed the presence of a lot of war remnants around the city of Mosul (Al-Jazeera Net)

Mine problem

In turn, the mayor of Mosul, Zuhair Al-Araji, welcomed any effort to combat mines, whether from the women's team or other international and local organizations, stressing that the competent government agencies continue their field work to remove mines.

Al-Jazeera Net showed that there are many war remnants, including mines planted in areas around the city of Mosul, and in agricultural lands, districts and sub-districts, and no comprehensive field survey was conducted except on the road and nearby areas.

It reveals that there have been more than 10 cases in which civilians were exposed to the explosion of these wastes in separate areas in Mosul, which led to human and material losses.

For his part, Human Rights Brigadier General Hussam Khalil, Director of Nineveh Civil Defense and General Supervisor of the Division for Handling Unexploded Bombs, says that the volume of war remnants in Nineveh is very large, and there is no accurate statistics for these remnants.

Khalil talks to Al-Jazeera Net about human and material losses, and economic losses represented by the failure to reclaim agricultural lands as a result of these wastes.

According to Khalil, the Civil Defense carried out 755 duties, and more than 8,590 remnants of war were handled and removed, and 33 flying bombs of different sizes.

Khalil praises the support provided by the Mine Affairs Department at the Ministry of Health and Environment, and the voluntary organizations, saying that any effort added to the existing effort is positive to expedite the disposal of war remnants and the sustainability of life in those areas.

A team in Basra

In southern Iraq, specifically in Basra, the first female demining team of 14 women was recently formed with the support of a local company working in mine clearance.

Team members were trained over a period of 40 days, providing them with tools and knowledge on how to find and remove different types of mines safely.

One of the team members, Hind Ali, says that her family and the community do not accept women working in this field.

The CEO of Al Barq Demining Company, Walid Al-Faris, says that the motives for joining the team are varied. While some are looking for job opportunities, others are driven by humanitarian goals, while some consider the task a personal challenge.

Over the past years, mines have killed and injured dozens of Iraqis in the east and west of the city, and in Basra, thousands of kilometers are still filled with mines, as a result of the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf War.