Marsh loss shatters lifestyle of Iraq’s Ma’dan women
Iraq is losing crucial knowledge about water management as marshland depletion is altering the lifestyle of local women, a paper has warned. The indigenous people of the Hammar Marshes, called Ma’dan, hold a treasure trove of traditional knowledge and skills that help with water management, medicine and sustainable farming, a study found. In Ma’dan tradition, women are the preservers of such knowledge […]Iraq is losing crucial knowledge about water management as marshland depletion is altering the lifestyle of local women, a paper has warned.
The indigenous people of the Hammar Marshes, called Ma’dan, hold a treasure trove of traditional knowledge and skills that help with water management, medicine and sustainable farming, a study found. In Ma’dan tradition, women are the preservers of such knowledge and take an active role in trade, reed collection and animal husbandry.
However, the depletion of the marshes through desiccation has drastically changed their lifestyle, researchers say. While none of the women interviewed for the study reported being primarily domestic before marshland desiccation, about 60 per cent of younger women are exclusively housewives, says Nadia Al-Mudaffar Fawzi, the author of the study.
