Tackling Illiteracy in Iraq One Step at a Time

Bagdad, Iraq– “The thousand-mile journey begins with one step.”  That’s what Fatina Baban, a member of the Arab Women’s Leadership Institute (AWLI), said when asked what people in her community could do to combat the many challenges facing Iraq. 

Once a country that enjoyed some of the highest literacy rates for both sexes in the region, Iraq now has schools without teachers, teachers without schools, and a population without knowledge.  Fatina has spent the last 55 years in her beloved country, and today is trying to do something about that. 

Head of the Women’s Committee for Iraqi Teachers, Fatina started a literacy project in 2008 with the assistance of the Bagdad provisional council and the Committee of Education.  In Bagdad there are 422 literacy centers, but more than 1,700 unemployed teachers.  This gap in need without means has lead to hundreds of students wanting an education but unable to get one.  Fatina’s committee, through their literacy project, is working to bridge this gap. 

Last year, Fatina attended an AWLI training where she learned some important lessons in the role civil society has in encouraging economic development.  She immediately recognized that one way to improve the lives and livelihoods of Iraqis is improving literacy rates and education.   

“I benefited a lot from AWLI’s training, and since then my organization has noticed a turning point in our activities,” said Fatina.  “By creating strategic plans like we discussed in the training, we’ve been able to begin tackling our many goals, which include eliminating illiteracy and unemployment.”  

Fatina credits the connections she made with other Arab women in the region combating similar challenges as a source of strength.  

Fatina and her organization are also taking their cause to the Iraqi government.  They helped draft the Literacy and Adult Education Law in Iraq, which already received a reading before the Council of Representatives governing body.  It is Fatina’s hope the law will be passed and implemented soon, and more resources can be spent on this mission. 

For now though, Fatina will continue working on the literacy project and seek support from the institute.  “The most useful thing about the Arab Women’s Leadership Institute is the unity that was achieved among the Arab women,” she said.  “We share their happy and sad occasions.”