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The Iraqi Women Clearing Bombs

8th March 2023 | Iraq | UXO clearance, Landmine clearance

Safaa, age 28, is from Baiji, Salah al-Din, Iraq. Like most families from the area, she was forced to flee her home during the ISIS occupation in 2014, only returning three years later after it was liberated.

When she returned home, Baiji was destroyed and homes and streets littered with explosives. Safaa knew she wanted to do something to help her community rebuild and, in 2018, began working for HALO as a deminer. For the past five years she has worked across Salah al-Din, finding and removing IEDs and explosives.

Safaa's career choice is unusual for a woman in Iraq and it took her family and friends a while to get used to the idea.

"Physical, hard jobs are not usual for women in Iraq, and it took some time to explain to my family and friends that a woman can also work in the mine action sector. However, when they saw how what I learnt can support my entire community to avoid danger they started to understand."
Safaa, Team Leader, Explosive Ordnance Disposal

Following your dreams

Safaa marking an area where an explosive was found

"My team and colleagues respect my role and seeing a woman working in my position has inspired some of them to recommend other women in their communities to do the same. It is nice to be in a team where women support women, and we encourage ourselves and the girls in our community to chase their dreams."
Safaa, Team Leader, Explosive Ordnance Disposal

Safaa has led the way in breaking new ground for Iraqi women working in humanitarian mine clearance. She was the first HALO female member of staff in Iraq to earn her Explosive Ordnance Level Three qualification - travelling to Somaliland to participate in training. Today, Safaa is a team leader, heading up a mixed team of men and women clearing battlefields in her hometown of Baiji. Their current location was a hotspot during the conflict with ISIS. For many years the area was abandoned but as families began to return, they found large numbers of explosives that needed to removed so they could set up home safely.

Elaf, a mother of two boys, is part of Safaa's team. Although the job is challenging, she is motivated to make a safe space for the children of Iraq.

"What inspires me is that we are learning something every day and protecting the children in our communities. We hope to see Salah al-Din reconstructed through the work we are doing with HALO."
Elaf, deminer, HALO Iraq

Safaa and Elaf after a long day's work

Safaa and Elaf鈥檚 battle area clearance team is funded thanks to the generous support of The Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA). This funding covers all of HALO's clearance teams in Salah al-Din, providing opportunities for women to take the lead in making their communities safe for all.