- Title: JORDAN-FEMALE CARPENTER Jordanian woman carves out name as a carpenter
- Date: 13th August 2015
- Summary: AMMAN, JORDAN (AUGUST 8, 2015) (REUTERS) OUTSIDE AIDA AL-QURNA'S HOME VARIOUS OF QURNA'S WORKSHOP QURNA WORKING ON A CUTTING MACHINE VARIOUS OF QURNA CUTTING WOOD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JORDANIAN CARPENTER, AIDA AL-QURNA, SAYING: "I chose this profession because it has a lot of beautiful aspects. It involves artistic touches and creativity. It is also a challenging professio
- Embargoed: 28th August 2015 13:00
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- Location: Jordan
- Country: Jordan
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVACKFBZKWVPH63VT078N8ET3A49
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- Story Text: A Jordanian woman has made a name for herself as a highly skilled carpenter in an industry dominated by men not only in the region, but the world over.
Aida al-Qurna has worked as a carpenter for over a decade, challenging the status quo in a patriarchal society.
"I chose this profession because it has a lot of beautiful aspects. It involves artistic touches and creativity. It is also a challenging profession, you challenge yourself and society, especially as a woman who is a carpenter in this patriarchal society. I've been doing this for ten years," said the 45-year-old.
Faced with difficult living conditions and unemployment, Qurna decided to take matters into her own hands.
She acquired a small loan, and opened up a workshop in her home, hoping to help provide a better life for her family.
Unemployment is a growing problem in the country, often hitting female population the hardest.
According to a recent World Bank Group report on gender in Jordan, the participation of women in the labour force in the country stands at 22 percent, compared to 87 percent for men.
Qurna encourages women not to be afraid to challenge gender stereotypes, and pursue whatever career path they desire.
"If a woman is ambitious, she can be whatever she likes, a blacksmith, a carpenter, an electrician. She can even become a taxi driver, whatever it is, she can do it, because there is more equality now between men and women."
"There's nothing wrong with a female becoming a blacksmith or a carpenter, if she is brave and able to do it, she should go for it, and she will find people to help her," she said.
Qurna said she has faced many challenges along the way. Suppliers rarely took her seriously, not being accustomed to seeing women visiting wholesalers to purchase wood.
She has also faced trouble gaining the trust of potential clients, who were apprehensive about a woman handling heavy machinery such as chain-saws and hammers.
However, Qurna said she managed to overcome prejudices and also demonstrated the advantage of having a woman, as she is able to appreciate aesthetics with a different eye and has a flair for creativity.
The biggest obstacle she had to overcome was her family's apprehension about the nature of the work.
"At first, my children, my husband, my brothers were all against this. They said 'this profession is not for you, it's a man's profession'. This caused a lot of problems between us, but I didn't listen to them," she said.
"I persevered until I convinced them that I could do this. I proved myself in the market, and now I have made a name for myself. Everyone speaks highly of Um Ihsan's work," she said, referring to one of her sons.
Although initially apprehensive of his mother's profession, her son Rifaat is now proud of his mother, and intends to follow in her footsteps.
"I've been working with my mother for four years. I'm working to help her out and to learn the techniques that will make me a good carpenter."
Qurna now wants to expand her business by purchasing larger machinery and employing staff. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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