On the Edge: Iraqi mothers cope with single parenthood

Karen Button

In a one-bedroom basement apartment Um Mahmoud sits clothed in a black abaya, surrounded by three of her five children. Though married for many years, five months ago she was thrust into the role of a single mother when her husband was refused re-entry to Jordan. Um Mahmoud is now like many Iraqi women in Amman, single and trying to raise their children with little hope for work. Unofficial figures put about fifty percent of Jordan’s 1 million Iraqis under the poverty line. No one knows exactly how many single mothers are here trying to get by, but one social worker tells me most of the families she sees are headed by the mother. "For them it is really hard," she says, "I don’t know how they do it." "When I came to Jordan, my health was good," says Um Mahmoud, "but withthe pressure, it’s too much." Now, she says, her health is falterin...

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