Iraq
In Iraq, Oxfam's focus is on supporting widows, protecting women from domestic violence and working with civil society organisations.
Report: In her own words
Coping with ongoing insecurity
Since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, chronic insecurity disrupts every aspect of daily life for people in Iraq. Women have particularly fallen victim to the consequences of war, and many are in tremendous need of financial assistance.
It is estimated that there are now some 740,000 widows in Iraq. Widowed by war, many are struggling to bring up large families alone. For salvation, many widows turn to marriage for help. When marriage is not a viable option, they turn to the state, but welfare support is difficult to access due to bureaucracy, lack of accountability and discrimination.
How Oxfam is helping
Together with partners, we’re working closely with vulnerable women widowed by war to access welfare support, and supporting civil society organisations to help advocate for a transparent system which delivers adequate and timely services for all.
![[Photo credit: Ceerwan Aziz]](images/iraq_heba.jpg)
Since Heba's husband was killed in 2007, she has received little support from her government to look after her three children. The only assistance provided by the government is food rations, which are not enough to meet the needs of her family.
