Our Deminers in Iraq Pave the way for Return

1 October 2026 / Orlane Lagarde

In Iraq, hundreds of thousands of families were forced to flee their villages during the conflict with the Islamic State group. Some have since been able to return home, but continue to live with the threat of improvised explosive devices scattered across fields, around homes and along roads and paths. For other families, the danger remains too great for them to return.

In the Dibis area, FSD’s all-female demining team works every day to clear these contaminated areas. The women themselves have been affected by the conflict. Today, they are clearing land so that families can regain access to their fields, move around more safely and, for some, finally return home.

For me, normality means being able to live without fear. It means waking up in the morning and thinking about tomorrow instead of thinking about what happened yesterday

Normality means land that can be cultivated, a safe home where a family can settle, children laughing and playing outside without their parents fearing for their safety, and the freedom to move around without having to think about where you place your feet.

It is this return to everyday life that these female deminers have in mind at the end of each day.

When we finish our work and know that an area is safer than it was before, we know that we have contributed to giving people back something that conflict took away from them—the freedom to live on their own land without fear

For Asmaa, this commitment is also personal: she lost her brother in an accidental explosion. “His memory became part of my motivation to work for the safety of others. If my work can help protect another family from experiencing the kind of loss that I experienced, then I feel that my work has a deeper meaning.”

In a profession still largely dominated by men, these women are proud to support their families while contributing to the safety of their communities. “For a woman who has experienced loss, having the opportunity to work can be life-changing. It can help her regain her confidence and feel that she is capable of standing on her own feet.” explains Siham, who lost her husband during the conflict.

Since FSD began operations in Iraq in March 2016, its teams have rendered safe more than 23,000 improvised explosive devices, more than 2,000 items of unexploded ordnance and around 100 anti-personnel mines. The work of these deminers is painstaking and demanding, but essential to enabling families to finally rebuild their lives.