HEWAR MEHEMED

Sharazoor- Hundreds of women come together in the Sharazoor district of Federal Kurdistan Region before sunrise. But they don’t come together to do morning workouts; they come together to pick fruits and vegetables. The women come together every day at 3 am because going to gardens takes three hours.

They set off before sunrise

The women of Sharazoor wake up every day before sunrise to work in gardens in order to pick vegetables and fruits. They wear a hat, head scarf and face mask to protect their faces from the sun. Some earn a living for their families while others think they have to work. Their reasons are different from participating in the labor force. We spoke to these women about what difficulties they have faced.

“We have to work in order not to…”

Some women bring baskets from their homes while others put fruits and vegetables in their skirts.  The women pick vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, watermelons, cucumbers, grapes, pears. “I am sick,” 54-year-old Gelawêj Qadi said, “I set off from Halabja with my friends at three in the morning to Pêncewîn. Coming here takes one hour. We start working after we arrive in the garden. If we don’t work, we will not earn a living. It is hard but we have to work in order not to depend on someone else.”

“We have to work hard due to current policies”

57-year-old Amina Namîqa moved from Kirkuk 30 years ago to Sharazoor. Almost all her family members were killed by Saddam Hussein’s Ba'ath Party. “Because of the policies of the Federal Kurdistan Region, all these women have to work in gardens. Some have to work very hard. Women of all ages have to work to earn a living for their families.”

“We are exploited”

64-year-old Rabîe Hesen is one of the women coming together before sunrise. “We wake up before sunrise to go to the gardens. We do a hard day's work and work hard. We are exploited.”