Baghdad’s first female mayor set to take over reins
22 Feb 2015 11:12 PM GMT
A woman has been named as mayor of Baghdad for the first time, a government spokesman said on Saturday, amid widespread corruption and rampant violence. Zekra Alwach, a civil engineer and director general of the ministry of higher education, becomes the first female to be given such a post in the whole country, where international rights groups have condemned women’s rights abuses. As mayor, the most important administrative position in the capital, Alwach will deal directly with prime minister Haider al-Abadi and holds has the prerogatives of a cabinet minister. She will begin work tomorrow, according to a municipal source.
“Abadi sacked the (former) mayor Naim Aboub and named Zekra Alwach to replace him,” government spokesman Rafed Juburi said. Aboub’s removal was not designed as a punishment, although he was regularly accused on social media and by Baghdad residents as incompetent, the spokesman added. He made headlines in March 2014 when he described his city, beset by brutal sectarian violence and rife with corruption, as ‘more beautiful than New York and Dubai’. “Aboub is a clown. Abadi should have sacked him from the start. All his statements were ridiculous,” said Yasser Saffar, a Baghdad baker. Alwach’s appointment is a breakthrough for gender equality in Iraq, where rights groups say discrimination and violence against women is widespread. According to a UN report last year, at least a quarter of Iraqi women aged over 12 are illiterate and just 14 per cent enter the world of work.
“Abadi sacked the (former) mayor Naim Aboub and named Zekra Alwach to replace him,” government spokesman Rafed Juburi said. Aboub’s removal was not designed as a punishment, although he was regularly accused on social media and by Baghdad residents as incompetent, the spokesman added. He made headlines in March 2014 when he described his city, beset by brutal sectarian violence and rife with corruption, as ‘more beautiful than New York and Dubai’. “Aboub is a clown. Abadi should have sacked him from the start. All his statements were ridiculous,” said Yasser Saffar, a Baghdad baker. Alwach’s appointment is a breakthrough for gender equality in Iraq, where rights groups say discrimination and violence against women is widespread. According to a UN report last year, at least a quarter of Iraqi women aged over 12 are illiterate and just 14 per cent enter the world of work.
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