BAGHDAD – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is signing millions of dollars of reconstruction contracts with Iraqi businesses owned by women, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq reports, citing the Iraqi official working with the U.S. military to implement the plan.
Azza Hamdan told RFI that the U.S. military has signed contracts with companies owned by women to operate and maintain seven of the 13 U.S.-funded medical clinics in the country.
However, Hamdan said only 70 of the 2,000 firms with which the Corps of Engineers has contracts are run by women.
Hamdan added that the U.S. military is trying to encourage the Iraqi government to prioritize working with women-owned businesses after the U.S. military pulls out of the country in 2011.