Breaks all the rules in a conservative region, against all odds, in a business dominated by men and you are a young woman with 4 children.
With a hammer and a saw, Nour al-Janabi builds her latest creation in her joinery in Iraq, a candy-pink sofa.
“I am the first Iraqi woman to operate this trade and break the barrier in this area. No Iraqi woman had taken up such a profession before. In the beginning, relatives criticized me. They used to tell me: ‘You won’t be successful because you’re a woman and it’s a man’s craft, ‘but I’ve proven otherwise,” said the 29-year-old carpenter and furniture maker.
“They would say, ‘But you’re a woman… You’re an amateur… It’s a man’s craft.”
The sofas and armchairs, which she designs, manufactures and repairs in her workshop in southern Baghdad, are upholstered in velvet or faux leather and range from rustic style to Louis XV.
Your order book is full, new lounges are available for as little as 700,000 dinars (around 480€).
Janabi has been making furniture for several years and founded her company Nour Carpentry a few months ago. She recently moved the business from her home to a workshop where she employs four people, including her retired husband.
“But it’s not right to say it like that,” she said with an embarrassed smile, her hijab covering her hair.
According to the World Bank, women make up just 13.3 percent of the working population in oil-rich Iraq, while the World Economic Forum ranked the country 154th out of 156 in its latest Global Gender Gap Report.
A study published last year by two UN agencies found that while most Iraqis regard higher education as equally important to men and women, “attitudes toward equality in employment discriminate against women.”
They make Iraq proud
Janabi attributes her success primarily to do-it-yourself tutorials, which she first posted on Facebook to share her passion for carpentry and furniture making.
She uploads videos to TikTok and Instagram, where she has more than 94,000 followers — about everything from refilling an old sofa to using a sander.
“I am the first Iraqi woman to work in this profession and break the barrier in this area,” she claimed, in a country that is still largely dominated by conservative attitudes to the role of women in society and where those who are perceived as too independent are sometimes even considered immoral.
She said she receives comments from women and men who tell her: “You make Iraq proud and you’ve achieved something. The social media content I create is one of the few in Iraq for which I have not received any negative feedback in connection with my work. Most comments from men and women say: “You are a hero and a brave woman. You make Iraq proud and you’ve achieved something.”
General of the Iraqi Army
Most working women in Iraq are teachers or nurses, although a small number of them have joined the police or armed forces. One of them is Angham al-Tamimi, who became the first female general in the army this year. In a video broadcast by the military press service, she said that she was “faced with the refusal to accept women in the military.” But she said she did it thanks to her “persistence” and “passion.”
Breaks all the rules in a conservative region, against all odds, in a business dominated by men and you are a young woman with 4 children.
With a hammer and a saw, Nour al-Janabi builds her latest creation in her joinery in Iraq, a candy-pink sofa.
“I am the first Iraqi woman to operate this trade and break the barrier in this area. No Iraqi woman had taken up such a profession before. In the beginning, relatives criticized me. They used to tell me: ‘You won’t be successful because you’re a woman and it’s a man’s craft, ‘but I’ve proven otherwise,” said the 29-year-old carpenter and furniture maker.
“They would say, ‘But you’re a woman… You’re an amateur… It’s a man’s craft.”
The sofas and armchairs, which she designs, manufactures and repairs in her workshop in southern Baghdad, are upholstered in velvet or faux leather and range from rustic style to Louis XV.
Your order book is full, new lounges are available for as little as 700,000 dinars (around 480€).
Janabi has been making furniture for several years and founded her company Nour Carpentry a few months ago. She recently moved the business from her home to a workshop where she employs four people, including her retired husband.
“But it’s not right to say it like that,” she said with an embarrassed smile, her hijab covering her hair.
According to the World Bank, women make up just 13.3 percent of the working population in oil-rich Iraq, while the World Economic Forum ranked the country 154th out of 156 in its latest Global Gender Gap Report.
A study published last year by two UN agencies found that while most Iraqis regard higher education as equally important to men and women, “attitudes toward equality in employment discriminate against women.”
They make Iraq proud
Janabi attributes her success primarily to do-it-yourself tutorials, which she first posted on Facebook to share her passion for carpentry and furniture making.
She uploads videos to TikTok and Instagram, where she has more than 94,000 followers — about everything from refilling an old sofa to using a sander.
“I am the first Iraqi woman to work in this profession and break the barrier in this area,” she claimed, in a country that is still largely dominated by conservative attitudes to the role of women in society and where those who are perceived as too independent are sometimes even considered immoral.
She said she receives comments from women and men who tell her: “You make Iraq proud and you’ve achieved something. The social media content I create is one of the few in Iraq for which I have not received any negative feedback in connection with my work. Most comments from men and women say: “You are a hero and a brave woman. You make Iraq proud and you’ve achieved something.”
General of the Iraqi Army
Most working women in Iraq are teachers or nurses, although a small number of them have joined the police or armed forces. One of them is Angham al-Tamimi, who became the first female general in the army this year. In a video broadcast by the military press service, she said that she was “faced with the refusal to accept women in the military.” But she said she did it thanks to her “persistence” and “passion.”