Safaa, age 28, is from Baiji, Salah al-Din, Iraq. Like most families from the area, she was forced to flee her home during the ISIS occupation in 2014, only returning three years later after it was liberated.
When she returned home, Baiji was destroyed and homes and streets littered with explosives. Safaa knew she wanted to do something to help her community rebuild and, in 2018, began working for HALO as a deminer. For the past five years she has worked across Salah al-Din, finding and removing IEDs and explosives.
Safaa's career choice is unusual for a woman in Iraq and it took her family and friends a while to get used to the idea.
Following your dreams
Safaa marking an area where an explosive was found
Safaa has led the way in breaking new ground for Iraqi women working in humanitarian mine clearance. She was the first HALO female member of staff in Iraq to earn her Explosive Ordnance Level Three qualification - travelling to Somaliland to participate in training. Today, Safaa is a team leader, heading up a mixed team of men and women clearing battlefields in her hometown of Baiji. Their current location was a hotspot during the conflict with ISIS. For many years the area was abandoned but as families began to return, they found large numbers of explosives that needed to removed so they could set up home safely.
Elaf, a mother of two boys, is part of Safaa's team. Although the job is challenging, she is motivated to make a safe space for the children of Iraq.
Safaa and Elaf after a long day's work
Safaa and Elaf’s battle area clearance team is funded thanks to the generous support of The Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA). This funding covers all of HALO's clearance teams in Salah al-Din, providing opportunities for women to take the lead in making their communities safe for all.
