Food, lack of work and health care remain the major obstacles to recovery among displaced Iraqi female heads of households who have returned home, says IOM.
In its latest survey on displacement in Iraq with a special focus on female-headed households, IOM assessed 1,355 displaced families headed by a woman which have returned to their former homes.
Although these families have valid public distribution cards giving them access to food rations, 74 percent of them are struggling to provide adequate nutrition to family members. The problem is further compounded when rations arrive late or incomplete. The women are forced to spend what meagre funds they have on buying food.
The situation is made more difficult because the women either cannot work or they cannot find work. Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed were unable to work either because of health problems or because of social norms. Of those who are able to work, 71 percent are unemployed.
"These women have to support their children and elderly family members. Without a steady income, they become reliant on support from whoever can give it but it is not systematic," says Antonio Salanga, IOM's head of the Baghdad regional hub.
Of those surveyed, 40 percent said they had to rely on relatives, neighbours, religious groups and humanitarian organizations to get by.
The lack of access to health care reported among those surveyed is another cause for concern. Just over 25 percent of the families surveyed have a member with a chronic disease while one in four is without any access to health care.
With many of the families dependent on open or broken pipes, rivers or streams or other unsafe sources for water supplies, it seriously increases the risk of their contracting waterborne diseases.
In addition, female-heads of households are under enormous psychological and social stress. Those who are married or divorced have often had to flee domestic violence, which has greatly increased in the last five years as the country suffered one of the biggest displacement crises in recent history. Across the country, one in five Iraqi women are subjected to physical violence and even more, 1 in 3, to emotional violence. This has underlined the need for psycho-social support and legal aid for female heads of households to ensure their physical and mental security.
IOM currently carries out a pilot programme providing psycho-social, legal and livelihood assistance to the most vulnerable internally displaced and returnee female-headed households in Baghdad, Diyala and Missan governorates, funded by the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration(PRM). This includes one-on-one and group counselling, medical assistance and legal aid that helps the women deal with issues such as divorce, alimony and child custody. The women are also given vocational training to equip them with skills that will enable them to find jobs or generate income.
For further information, please contact Antonio Salanga, IOM Iraq, email: asalanga@iom.int or Tel: +964 781 437 3395, or + 962 6 565 9660