Extraordinary lives

What are you doing today? What would you be doing if you lost your home... your family... your income? This is the daily reality facing a huge number of women living in today's Iraq.

Around 82 per cent of the 2.4 million people displaced inside Iraq are women, or young children under the age of 12. The following stories, collected by women’s organisations in Iraq, give a rare insight into how Iraqi women are trying to help their families to survive and to retain their dignity in times of extreme suffering

• Shukriya's story
  Shukriya collects drinks cans and nylon to sell to factories to make small amounts of money for her family to survive.
  
  Three women in Baghdad
  "As mothers we are the source of calmness and affection for our children. We have to hide our emotions, keep them to ourselves so that our kids do not feel afraid or worried."
  
  Huda's story
  Widowed, and living in an area with no job prospects, it is up to Huda to single-handedly look after her family – a seemingly impossible task.
  
  Basima's story
  Since the war, Basima, 60, works all day to provide food and warmth for her two grandchildren.