Graduates Injured as Baghdad Employment Protest Turns Violent
Several graduates were injured during a Baghdad protest by higher-degree holders and top students demanding public-sector jobs and allocations in Iraq's 2027 budget.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A large protest by higher-degree holders and top university graduates in Baghdad turned violent on Tuesday after tensions erupted between demonstrators and security forces, leaving several graduates injured as protesters demanded public-sector employment.
Tens of thousands of holders of master's and doctoral degrees, along with graduates who ranked among the top three in their colleges and departments, gathered in the Iraqi capital on Sept. 29 to press the government to provide jobs they say they are entitled to receive.
Kurdistan24 correspondent Dilan Barzan reported from Baghdad that security forces used force to disperse the demonstrators after tensions escalated.
The confrontation led to clashes between protesters and security personnel, Barzan said, with several graduates sustaining injuries. Some of those hurt were taken to hospitals for treatment.
The source did not provide a precise number of injured protesters or details on their conditions.
The demonstrators are demanding that the federal government include public-sector appointments for them in the 2027 draft budget law.
According to Barzan, the protesters want guarantees that their employment rights will be protected and that positions will be allocated to them as part of the coming budget.
The protest is the latest in a series of demonstrations by the same groups.
Higher-degree holders and top graduates have previously taken to the streets over delayed employment, with many saying they have waited for years for appointments despite existing legal provisions.
More than 42,000 higher-degree holders and top-three graduates across Iraq are currently waiting for government employment, according to the information provided to Kurdistan24.
Their demands have become part of a wider employment problem facing Iraqi university graduates.
Thousands of students graduate from universities and institutes each year, while public-sector positions remain limited and the private sector has not been able to absorb the large number of job seekers.
Iraq's economy remains heavily dependent on government employment, making public-sector appointments particularly important for many graduates.
The source states that Iraqi laws require the government to employ the top three graduates at the level of colleges and departments, as well as holders of higher degrees, including master's and doctoral qualifications.
In practice, however, implementation has frequently been delayed because of financial constraints and the absence of sufficient allocations in federal budgets.
That gap between legal expectations and available government positions has repeatedly brought graduates back to the streets.
Tuesday's protest placed renewed pressure on the government as work continues on the 2027 budget, which protesters see as the next opportunity to secure funding for their appointments.
For the more than 42,000 graduates awaiting jobs, the central demand remains unchanged: a clear government commitment to employment and budget allocations that would allow the existing appointment process to move forward.
The supplied report did not include an immediate response from the Iraqi government or security forces regarding either the protesters' demands or the clashes.