She lives in a small rented apartment in the Shiite-dominated al- Shoala district of western Baghdad, where she works as a vegetable vendor. Her apartment building lacks basic sanitation.

“Two years ago my husband was killed. He did not have any political activities or animosities, he was just working selling leftovers,” she said.

“We were happy despite having a difficult life. Now I am alone and have to raise three kids and send them to school regularly with the little income I get from my work,” she added.

The ministry for women’s affairs is unable to provide statistics on the number of widows in the country but a recent United Nations report, based on information from several Iraqi aid organizations, showed that between 90 and 100 women are widowed each day amid an escalation in sectarian violence.

Targeted assassinations, random killings and roadside and car bombs have become commonplace in Iraq in the aftermath of the US-led invasion and ouster of former president Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Asma al-Shabout, a women’s rights activist, said that the statistics provided by the UN reflected the spike in violence across the country but noted Iraq already had many young widows before the current Iraq war.

“The phenomenon dates back to the start of the wars ordered by Saddam in 1980 until he was toppled in 2003,” al-Shabout said.

Tacking security situations

Official statistics on the numbers of women widowed during Saddam Hussein’s rule were also never published, probably because in some cases the men died in controversial circumstances, she said.

“Some of them (widows) were under conditions that did not allow them demand their rights because their husbands died by being hanged or tortured in Saddam’s prisons on political or sectarian grounds,” she explained.

Al-Shabout, a former member of parliament, said the government should draft laws to protect widows and provide them with a place to live.

Fa’eza Papakhan, a former Kurdish MP and activist, has also sounded the alarm bell over the growing number of widows.

“Iraqi streets are experiencing lots of violence and killing so the rate of widows is at risk of rising, something that would put the Iraqi family at risk,” she said.

Papakhan believes that the problem of Iraqi widows could only be tackled by tacking the security situation and by disarming the militias.

“The problem of widows needs serious government intervention and real aid,” she said.

The Iraqi government has earmarked 1.5 million Iraqi dinars (1,000 dollars) for each Iraqi widow, but some complain that only those with political connections get help.

“We did not receive any financial assistance from the government because my husband was not affiliated with any of the government bodies,” Somaya said.