Some people stood against me and were surprised when I got that position
Some people stood against me and were surprised when I got that position
Rasha’s happiest day is when she finds a job for an unemployed youth. She neglected accusations of taking responsibilities that the society sets to be the duty of men.
Her new job is leading workers syndicate. A woman’s appointment for such position was surprising to people. She does not see it that way and soon proved it.
Rasha Wadi,35, a Christian, from Al Qosh town in the Nineveh plain, became head of Kurdistan Workers' Syndicate in Telskuf.
“Some people stood against me and were surprised when I got that position, claiming that it is the first time the syndicate is opened and it is better to be run by a man,” Rasha said.
Workers' syndicate is opened in Telskuf for the first time. The village is predominantly Christian and is located 30 km north of Mosul.
“Opening Workers' Syndicate is a crucial step to decrease unemployment rate among youth and people of the area through finding job opportunities for them,” Rasha added.
When she took office, she launched her plan which aims at finding jobs. To achieve her goal, she has started creating a network of contacts with local and international organization and relevant institutions.
She said, “I really like serving working class. The main problem in our area is lack of jobs. The unemployment rate has reached 60 percent and tens of u university and college graduates are jobless.”
The unemployment rate has reached 60 percent and tens of u university and college graduates are jobless
Rasha graduated from high school but could not finish her studies due to family related reasons.
Her family moved to Baghdad for a while and it made it difficult to her to pursue her further studies. They returned to Al Qosh. Her father passed away and she now lives with her mother and brother.
Every early morning, she goes from Al Qosh to Telskuf where her office is based. “I do not like to only sit on my chair and drink tea with the guests. I also do not like routines,” she stated.
I do not like to only sit on my chair and drink tea with the guests
Telskuf fell under ISIS control and its people were displaces. The area suffers from numerous problems.
ISIS took over Nineveh Plain in mid 2014 and offered three options to the Christians of the area. The options were conversion to Islam, paying Jizya tax, or leaving the area. As a result, thousands of Christian families either moved to the Kurdistan Region or migrated abroad.
Eliminating ISIS traces and regenerating youth’s ability is among Rash’s aims as well as “opening all the closed doors towards the youth through the syndicate” is what she wants do.
“From this year on, we will have workshops and meetings with organizations and government institutions. Together, we will hardly work on how to reduce unemployment rate.”
The syndicate Rasha heads has been registered in the name of Tel Kaif but the office is in Telskuf due to security reasons, so in its work domain, the syndicate has a wider responsibility.
“Through researches, we will determine the exact number of unemployed people and their qualifications in order to find them jobs. We have come to that aim and will not stop, “Rasha, with a lot of hopes, said.
