Fuel shortages in Iraqi Kurdistan spark dispute over separate queues for women

Editor's note: this story was translated from the original VOA Kurdish article.

Fuel shortages in Iraq's Kurdistan Region have sparked a dispute over how subsidized gasoline is distributed, with women drivers in Halabja complaining of discrimination after authorities introduced restrictions on their access to filling stations.

Long queues have become a common sight outside government-run fuel stations across the region since U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran began in late February, disrupting fuel imports.

Despite being OPEC's second-largest oil producer, Iraq relies heavily on imported petroleum products because domestic refineries cannot produce enough gasoline to meet demand.

In Halabja, in Northeast Iraq near the Iranian border, motorists spend hours waiting for fuel, while others queue overnight to secure gasoline at government-subsidized prices.

According to the most recent information from August, a liter of gasoline costs 750 Iraqi dinars at government stations, compared with around 1,150 dinars at privately operated stations, a price gap that has encouraged drivers to endure lengthy waits.

To ease the burden on women, who generally face greater social constraints on waiting overnight, Halabja's fuel committee initially introduced separate queues for male and female drivers.

But the arrangement prompted complaints from some men, who argued that women were receiving preferential treatment. Some also accused female drivers of bringing their husbands' vehicles to obtain cheaper fuel.

Authorities subsequently changed the system, allowing one female driver to enter a station after every 10 male drivers. Women are also required to present driving licenses; a requirement not imposed on men.

The changes have angered women who say they face longer waits, additional scrutiny and harassment from male motorists.

"Many men go through, eight or 10 of them, before one woman is allowed in," said Kurda Jamal, a local driver.

"They then ask women for their driving licenses and accuse them of driving cars belonging to their husbands," she said, adding that such accusations were embarrassing and made the experience increasingly difficult.

Another female driver, Kizhan Osman, called for equal treatment.

"If a man gets gasoline, the next person should be a woman," she said. "It should not be 10 men followed by one woman. We want this discrimination to end at all fuel stations in Kurdistan Region, particularly in Halabja."

Male drivers have also expressed frustration, saying the shortages have disrupted their work and daily lives.

Aram Abdullah, a local motorist, said teachers, government employees and other workers were losing valuable time waiting for fuel.

"You might spend half your day just getting a few liters of gasoline," he said. "What time is left for the rest of your life?"

Residents also complained that the allocation of just one gasoline tanker a day to Halabja was insufficient to meet demand.

Halabja district administrator Simko Salar attributed the congestion to reduced fuel allocations and defended the revised distribution system as fair.

"Equality does not mean allowing one woman and then one man through," Salar said, arguing that the much shorter queues for women under the previous arrangement meant men could wait seven hours while women received fuel in half an hour.

"Both are human beings," he said, adding that authorities respected women and would investigate their complaints.

For many motorists, however, the financial incentive remains difficult to ignore.

The lower price of subsidized gasoline has prompted some residents to begin queuing a day before deliveries arrive, spending the night outside filling stations in hopes of securing fuel the following morning.