Iraqi Women

Untold Stories from 1948 to the Present

Nadje Sadig Al-Ali

• Publisher: Zed Books
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781842777459
• eBook ISBN: 9781848137127
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Cultural Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The war in Iraq has put the condition of Iraqi women firmly on the global agenda. For years, their lives have been framed by state oppression, economic sanctions and three wars. Now they must play a seminal role in reshaping their country's future for the twenty-first century. Nadje Al-Ali challenges the myths and misconceptions which have dominated debates about Iraqi women, bringing a much needed gender perspective to bear on the central political issue of our time. Based on life stories and oral histories of Iraqi women, she traces the history of Iraq from post-colonial independence, to the emergence of a women's movement in the 1950s, Saddam Hussein's early policy of state feminism to the turn towards greater social conservatism triggered by war and sanctions. Yet, the book also shows that, far from being passive victims, Iraqi women have been, and continue to be, key social and political actors. Following the invasion, Al-Ali analyses the impact of occupation and Islamist movements on women's lives and argues that US-led calls for liberation has led to a greater backlash against Iraqi women.

Index

A Sky So Close, 148, 153

abaya (black garment), 57, 96–8, 101

Absent, 187, 205, 213

Abu Ghraib prison, 239–40

ACCESS, Dearborn community centre, 34

Act Together: Women’s Action for Iraq, 7, 22

‘Aflaq, Michel, 82, 116

Albright, Madeleine, 185

Algiers Agreement 1975, 126; abrogation, 149

‘Ali, Rashid, 25

Allawi, Iyad, 218

American Civil Liberties Union, 239

Amman, 96; Iraq reconstruction personnel, 45; Iraqi prostitution, 201; Iraqi refugees, 44–7; suicide bombs, 48

Anfal campaign, 54, 147, 163–6, 182, 263

Arab and Chaldean Council, 29

Arab Community Centre for Economic and Social Services, 29

Arab nationalism, 71, 74, 80, 122, 262

Arab–Israeli wars 1948, 24; 1967, 94

‘Arif, ‘Abd al-Rahman, 94, 263

‘Arif, ‘Abd al-Salam, 75, 92, 94, 108

Assyrian Iraqis, 21, 53, 263

al-Attar, Suad, 68–9

‘authenticity’ (asla), 123, 268

Aziz, Tariq, assassination attempt, 161

al-Bakr, Ahmad Hasan, 113–15, 117, 124, 147

Ba‘th Party/regime, 5–6, 72, 82, 84, 113, 115, 263; 1963 coup, 10, 74, 81, 84, 92, 93; 1968 coup, 15, 95, 108, 111, 116, 117; Al-Amn security apparatus, 125; indoctrination, 138; membership pressure, 145; modernization ideology, 99, 128; Mukhabarat, 213; National Guard, 94; patronage, 120; political violence, 112; recruitment policies, 154; women affiliated, 48; attitudes towards women, 98, 131, 265

babies, abandoned, 198

Baghdad Diaries, 179–80

Baghdad, 65, 98, 102; air raids, 152, 178; Association for Modern Art, 68; Association of the Friends of Art, 68; coffee houses, 67–8; elite women, 12; humanitarian needs, 250; medical system collapse, 224; Pact, 75; security lack, 230; University, 87, 100, 105, 121, 123, 134, 161, 171, 194–5, 249

Barzani, Mas‘ud, 43, 164

Barzani, Must...

Table of contents

• Cover
• About the Book
• About the Author
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Introduction
• One: Living in the Diaspora
• Two: Living with the Revolution
• Three: Living with the Ba‘th
• Four: Living with Wars on Many Fronts
• Five: Living with War and Sanctions
• Six: Living with the Occupation
• Conclusion
• Notes
• References
• Index