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.
Author
Nadje Sadig Al-Ali (Arabic: نادية صادق العلي) is the author of Iraqi Women: Untold Stories From 1948 to the Present. and co-author with Nicola Pratt of What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq. Born to an Iraqi father and German mother, and having lived in Egypt for several years and being involved in the Egyptian women's movement, Al-Ali is also Professor of Gender Studies at the Center for Gender Studies at the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS). Al-Ali graduated from the University of Arizona (BA), University of Cairo (MA) and received a PhD from the anthropology department of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London in 1998. She is currently chairing the Centre for Gender Studies at SOAS. She is also President of the Association of Middle East Women's Studies (AMEWS), and a member of the Feminist Review Collective. Alongside her academic career, Nadje Al-Ali is a political activist and was a founder of the Iraqi British organisation Act Together: Women's Action for Iraq in 2000. She is also a member of the London branch of Women in Black, a worldwide network of women who are against war and violence. Many of her publications reflect the lives of Iraqi women and recent struggle to voice their opinions during the US-led invasion of Iraq. (from Wikipedia)
