- Title: IRAQ: First bank branch run by and catering to women only opens in Najaf
- Date: 26th October 2009
- Summary: NAJAF, IRAQ (OCTOBER 21, 2009) (REUTERS): PEOPLE WALKING IN STREET OF NAJAF/ IMAM ALI SHRINE AT FAR END OF STREET PEOPLE NEAR IMAM ALI SHRINE MORE OF PEOPLE NEAR SHRINE TWO MEN STANDING GUARD AT ENTRANCE TO WOMEN'S BANK BRANCH IN CITY "BABEL BANK/ WOMEN'S BANK BRANCH" WRITTEN IN ARABIC ON TOP OF ENTRANCE GATE TO BANK WOMAN BANK EMPLOYEE DEALING WITH WOMAN CUSTOMER BANK EMPLOYEE IN HER BOOTH SPEAKING TO WOMAN CUSTOMER WOMAN CUSTOMER COUNTING HUNDRED DOLLAR BILLS IN FRONT OF BANK BOOTH CLOSE-UP OF WAD OF DOLLAR BILLS BANK EMPLOYEE SPEAKING TO WOMAN BANK CUSTOMER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAZEN ABDUL RAZZAQ, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF BABEL PRIVATE BANK, SAYING: "Commercial activities have gained momentum, encouraged by security and stability in Najaf province. All the business sectors were involved and the competition was not confined to men only, but women too. This competition between men and business women in consequence has prompted us to come up with something new of its kind in Najaf and in Iraq as a whole, which is the opening of a special branch for women to enable them to practice business in a free and comfortable way." WOMAN CLIENT STANDING IN FRONT OF BANK EMPLOYEE IN BOOTH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAZEN ABDUL RAZZAQ, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF BABEL PRIVATE BANK, SAYING: "All the employees of the bank are women except for the guards outside the bank, who protect the bank. The move was greatly welcomed in a way that surpassed all the expectations and the feasibility studies of the bank. The number of the bank accounts in the first week has exceeded 50 accounts including current accounts and savings accounts and loan requests for business women in the province of Najaf." EMPLOYEE COUNTING HUNDRED DOLLAR BILLS IN MONEY COUNTER MONEY COUNTER FLUTTERING THROUGH WAD OF HUNDRED U.S. DOLLAR BILLS WOMEN CLIENTS AT BANK BOOTH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UM ZINA, BEAUTY PARLOUR EMPLOYEE, SAYING: "The idea of opening a bank (for women) in Najaf is good. Najaf needs such a step. Woman will go out freely to places where there are only women. I am one of the women who will take part and open a business and will encourage women who have projects to come to the bank to get help " WOMAN STANDING NEAR BANK BOOTH WOMAN HANDING RECEIPT TO BANK EMPLOYEE THROUGH OPENING IN WINDOW OF BOOTH IQBAL MOHAMMED, HEAD OF ACCOUNTS AT THE BANK, HELPING WOMAN CLIENT WOMEN INSIDE BANK (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) IQBAL MOHAMMED, HEAD OF ACCOUNTS AT THE BANK, SAYING: "It is a great step to meet the business woman's demands in Najaf. We opened this branch to support the Iraqi woman, especially in Najaf, who is isolated in her house and busy raising and instructing children as her sole occupation. We are supporting her so she can practice one of her rights. Most of the time the man is busy, so we have given her the right to go outdoors and do some business." WOMAN IN FRONT OF BOOTH BANK EMPLOYEES
- Embargoed: 10th November 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Industry
- Reuters ID: LVA40DIN0JYEILA35YSRHTX4KTI
- Story Text: Tired of the same old banking services? Want something new from your branch? How about Iraq's first all-women-employee bank branch in one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest cities where women can sit down, relax and take off their veil if they want to.
Unless, of course, you're the bank's male manager -- he has to make an appointment and come in through the back door.
"Commercial activities have gained momentum, spurred on by security and stability in Najaf province," said Mazen Abdul Razzaq, the deputy director of Babel private bank.
"All the business sectors were involved and the competition was not confined to men only, but women too. This competition between men and business women in consequence has prompted us to come up with something new of its kind in Najaf and in Iraq as a whole, which is the opening of a special branch for women to enable them to practice business in a free and comfortable way," added Abdul Razzaq.
According to Abdul Razzaq, the only men working for the branch are the security guards stationed outside the bank on the street.
"The move was greatly welcomed in a way that surpassed all the expectations and the feasibility studies of the bank. The number of the bank accounts in the first week has exceeded 50 accounts including current accounts and savings accounts and loan requests for business women in the province of Najaf," said Abdul-Razzaq Iraq was once considered one of the most progressive countries for women's rights in the Middle East, but Iraqi society has become more religious since the 1990s.
After the 2003 U.S. invasion, religious militants imposed conservative policies that were particularly intolerant of women's rights. But as violence fell, extremists' stranglehold on social issues also waned.
In the women-only branch in Najaf, women tellers sit behind windowed booths, bricks of Iraqi dinars piled to one side, while counting machines flutter through wads of 100-U.S.-dollar bills.
Standing in line at Babel bank, Um Zina, an account holder at the bank, says she feels comfortable at Babel's women-only branch.
"The idea of opening a bank (for women) in Najaf is good. Najaf needs such a step. Woman will go out freely to places where there are only women," the beauty parlour employee said.
A study by The Boston Consulting Group, which included Iraq among the countries surveyed, found that women were particularly dissatisfied when it came to financial services.
Iqbal Mohammed, head of accounts at the bank, sees the new branch benefiting all Iraqi women.
"It is a great step to meet the business woman's demands in Najaf. We opened this branch to support the Iraqi woman, especially in Najaf, who is isolated in her house and busy raising and instructing children as her sole occupation," she said.
"We support her to practice one of her rights. Most of the time the man is busy, so we have given her the right to go outdoors and do some business."
Iraq's banking sector, like its society, is also changing.
Once completely nationalised, most of Iraq's banking sector is still run by the state, which controls about 80 percent of gross domestic product. But bankers speak of a surge in deposits and loans in the past two years since the violence that gripped Iraq after Saddam Hussein's fall in 2003 began to subside.
Iraq's banking sector, however, is still underdeveloped compared with its Middle East neighbours and has only around 36 relatively small private banks.
If the Babel's women-only branch is successful, other private banks may begin opening more, said Abdul Aziz Hassoun, executive director of the Iraqi Private Banks League. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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