BAGHDAD, Nov. 27 -- With hammer and saw, Nour al-Janabi is building her latest creation, a candy-pink sofa, in the carpentry workshop she runs in male-dominated and conservative Iraq.

"At the start, relatives criticised me," said the 29-year-old carpenter and furniture-maker, who is also a mother of four.

"They would say: 'But you're a woman... You're an amateur... It's a men's trade'."

Covered in velvet or imitation leather, the sofas and armchairs that she designs, makes and mends in her south Baghdad workshop go from rustic style to Louis XV.

Her order book is full, with new lounges starting at a cool 700,000 dinars (around RM2,150).

Janabi has been making furniture for several years, and launched her business, Nour Carpentry, a f...