Female plumbers in Jordan clear path for women in labor market

Women in Jordan are trying to break the social barrier between women and the professions that men have monopolized with the first all-women Jordanian plumbing company leading the way.
Khawla Sheikh, 54, a plumber and a certified trainer, poses at her home's basement, where she gives plumbing training courses to other women, in Amman, Jordan, February 23, 2017. "Housewives are more comfortable to have a woman plumber in their house in the absence of their husbands," said Sheikh. "To tackle gender inequality, I think that all operating sectors must provide equal opportunities for men and women in all fields and each woman must believe in her capabilities and skills that she has in order to
Khawla al-Sheikh, a plumber and a certified trainer, poses in the basement of her home, where she gives training courses in plumbing to other women, in Amman, Jordan, Feb. 23, 2017. - REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
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Mohammad Ersan
@JournalistErsan
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AMMAN, Jordan — A number of Jordanian and Syrian women are defying social norms by working outside the home. On top of that, a few of them have ventured into a profession that has long been the sole preserve of men — plumbing.

In the city of Irbid, 62 miles north of Amman, five path-breaking Jordanian and Syrian women wear the blue uniform of the trade, having established the first female plumbing company in 2016. The Syrians found their way to plumbing in an effort to provide for their families, who fled to Jordan during the civil war raging in their home country since 2011. The conflict, unsurprisingly, has dealt a blow to their savings. Meanwhile, bad economic conditions, unemployment and poverty drove the Jordanian women to the trade.

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