Baghdad is to get its first ever female mayor, a government spokesman said on Saturday.

Zekra alwach, a civil engineer and director general of the ministry of higher education, will become the first female to be given such a post in Iraq when she begins work tomorrow, a government spokesperson said.

Alwach will be the only female mayor of any Arab League capital.

As mayor - the most important administrative position in the capital - Alwach will deal directly with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and will have similar prerogatives to that of a cabinet minister.

Some vaguely good news: Baghdad has its first female mayor, Zekra Alwach — Abubakr Al-Shamahi (@abubakrabdullah) February 21, 2015

Times are changing "@kiccovich: Dr Thikra Alwash the new Mayor of #Baghdad.1st woman mayor in its 1250-year history. pic.twitter.com/r7M5CneKhv" — Adrian (@Darkvincii) February 21, 2015

The role, however, is a difficult one. Alwach will take office at a time of rampant corruption, economic difficulty and conflict with the country currently struggling to fight off Islamic State militants who control vast swathes of western Iraq.

Alwach, who holds a doctorate in engineering, is seen as a technocrat and is not regarded as having any political affiliation, in an otherwise highly fraught political climate.

"Abadi sacked the [former] mayor Naim Aboub and named Dr Zekra Alwach to replace him," government spokesperson Rafed Juburi said.

Aboub's removal was not designed as a punishment, Juburi added, although Aboub was regularly accused on social media and by Baghdad residents as incompetent, the spokesman added.

He made headlines in March 2014 when he described his city, beset by brutal sectarian violence and rife with corruption, as "more beautiful than New York and Dubai".

"Aboub is a clown. Abadi should have sacked him from the start," Yasser Saffar, a Baghdad baker, told AFP. "All his statements were ridiculous."

Alwach's appointment is a breakthrough for gender equality in Iraq, where human rights groups have long complained of widespread discrimination and violence against women.

According to a UN report last year, at least a quarter of Iraqi women aged over 12 are illiterate and just 14 percent enter the workplace.

While the constitution reserves 25 percent of parliamentary seats for women, only two ministers out of the country’s 29 are headed by women.

Thikra Alwash, first woman mayor of #Baghdad in #Iraq : great news, congratulations. No border for equality gender — Marc Tarabella (@marctarabella) February 21, 2015

@TheLastLeg #isitok to love that ISIS won't be impressed about New Mayor of Baghdad being a woman. #girlpower — Lester.Tiger (@Lester_Tiger) February 20, 2015

Ooh la la! The mayor of #Baghdad is a woman <3 Great news and congratz 2her. Inshallah our PM in the future will be a woman too. #iraq