September 29, 2020

“I was 28 years old when my husband passed away. Other than sorrow and five kids, he left nothing behind. My husband had another wife, I have five kids, and his other wife has two. After his death, the other wife soon married someone else and left her two kids with me, and I took them in. We have had a very difficult life, so I thought of getting a job so I can raise these 7 kids. I finally opened this shop, and I have been working as a shop owner for 15 years. I buy second hand clothes from people and I resale them. There is a woman from Eastern Kurdistan that visits me often, she buys authentic Kurdish clothes that are old and for a good price, too. She knows plenty about Kurdish clothes.”

“Usually, I buy fruits and food for my kids from my earnings from the shop so my kids stay full. There are times that I only profit IQD 250 or IQD 500 from a piece of cloth that I sell, but I always stay thankful. If you are happy with what you have, then it doesn’t matter how much you have. I act as both a mother and a father for my kids, and I feel very happy that I don’t ask for anything from anyone, I will never let my kids to be hungry.
Being a woman is very difficult in this country, a lot of the time despite your responsibilities, you will have to act as the man figure as well. Money is not everything in life, I always say that money can make you forget your religion, or even make you more religious. To me, seeing my sons for one hours means the whole world.”