Iraqi Women

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the history of inequality for women in Iraq. It then discusses the impact, over the last five years, of the war in Iraq on the rights of Iraqi women. The paper suggests that women's rights may not be high on the political agenda and that women still have to accomplish a great deal before they can have an equal voice in Iraq.

From the Paper:

"For the long term, education may be the best way to advance the status of women. Although reliable literacy figures are difficult to obtain, most observers agree that Iraq has one of the worst gender literacy gaps in the world. As it has been seen with Iran, with its female literacy rate of more than 70 percent, educated women undoubtedly become effective advocates for their own rights. America should therefore strongly support female education in Iraq at all levels, primary and up, as well as adult-literacy programs The U.S. should also start moving a large portion of its reconstruction dollars to Iraqi businesswomen. Economic empowerment is a productive way to increase their status Despite the tremendous amounts of American aid that has flowed into Iraq, the U.S. mission in Baghdad has so far fought having an adviser on gender issues in Iraq -- where programs to support women are actually implemented. As a result, its many gender initiatives have not been nearly as effective as they could have been."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Al-Ali, N. (2007) Iraqi Women--Four years after the Invasion. Foreign Policy.
• Coleman, I. (2006) Women, Islam, and the New Iraq Foreign Affairs (85)1: 24. New York: Jan/Feb 2006. Vol. 85, Iss. 1; pg. 24
• Hunt, S., & Posa, Cristina (2004) Iraq's Excluded Women Foreign Policy. 143; 40-46
• Kandiyoti, D. (2007) Between the hammer and the anvil: post-conflict reconstruction, Islam and women's rights. 28(3)
• Looney, R. (2005) The Economics of Coping: the Plight of Women in Iraq's Informal Economy The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies. 30(3) 285-305,

More papers on Iraqi Women:

• Term Paper # 91724 : "Iraqi Women in the U.K."
• Research Paper # 50457 : "Women in the National Liberation Struggle"
• Descriptive Essay # 116007 : "The New Iraq"

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