Women and Democracy in Iraq: Gender, Politics and Nation-Building

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Description

As the post-invasion reconstruction of Iraq has unfolded, the potential for Iraqi women to participate actively and visibly in the countrys political structure has been one of its most notable results. The 2005 Constitution required that no less than 25% of seats in the Iraqi Parliament be filled by women. Yet despite subsequent parliamentary statistics suggesting great strides for female political participation, there has been a resounding silence on the wider implications of this quota for women in Iraqi political life. This book is the first full-length study of womens political representation in Iraq. Based on interviews with politicians and substantial media analysis, Huda Al-Tamimi outlines the political, sectarian and cultural constraints facing female Members of Parliament, and the ways in which individual women and womens organizations are actively challenging barriers to their political influence. The book is a vital contribution to discussions concerning the success and limitations of gender quotas in the Middle East. It also offers new and critical perspectives on the evolution of Iraqi politics, a subject that remains of high priority for a region and international community interested in the nations reconstruction.

Reviews

This excellent study of womens participation in Iraqi politics focuses on female MPs elected since the adoption of the countrys 2005 constitution... The author presents 12 case studies of the activities of female MPs to investigate. While commending the modicum of real progress that has occurred from having increased female representation in parliament, Al-Tamimi repeatedly concludes that the countrys patriarchal political culture and absence of security have stood in the way of fundamental change. Her combination of empirical research and theory makes this an important work for students of Iraq, and the Islamic world generally, but also for those who are more broadly concerned with comparative politics, notably womens rights and democratization. * CHOICE *

Author Bio

Huda Al-Tamimi is Lecturer and Convener of the Arabic, Honours & Postgraduate Program at the Centre for Arabic & Islamic Studies at the Australian National University.