Two Iraqi women are working as engineers in Iraq’s oil industry to help develop their country’s economy. Zainab Amjad is a 24-year-old engineer who works on an oil rig for six weeks at a time. The rig is where companies drill deep into the ground to look for oil. Amjad said she is often asked what she is doing in the oil fields. “They tell me the field environment only men can withstand,” said Amjad. “If I gave up, I’d prove them right.” Ayat Rawthan is a 24-year-old engineer working in another oil rig in Basra. She supervises a team that prepares large drill pipes used to collect information about rock formations. Most women who are petroleum engineers in Iraq work in an office. Instead, Amjad and Rawthan chose to work in the oil fields. These are not usual jobs for women from conservative communities.