Shafeeka, 59, was forced to leave her home shortly after the war began in 2003. "You can't imagine how hard it is to live in a tent but I have to be patient and hope that one day things will become better.“ Credit: Ceerwan Aziz/Oxfam

Iraq’s forgotten women

Six years since war began, Oxfam has produced a survey to highlight the desperate plight of countless women in Iraq and prompt positive action from their government and the international community.

We released the survey report, “In Her Own Words: Iraqi women talk about their greatest concerns and challenges,” (pdf, 171kb) on International Women’s Day 2009 to highlight the daily hardships women are facing as a result of years of conflict, and to prompt positive action from their government and the international community.

Here are some of the women we met: