Gendering political reconstruction in Iraq

Abstract

This paper evaluates current US policies towards political reconstruction in Iraq using a gendered lens in order to identify the impact upon women and gender relations. I will argue that, despite an apparent high-level political commitment to Iraqi women within the US administration, current policies towards Iraq are not helping to reduce gender inequalities. This is because US measures that are targeted at women alone do not consider women’s position within gender relations and, therefore, do little to address the question of gender relations. Certain US policies, such as de-Baathification and the establishment of governance mechanisms along sectarian/communal lines, have exacerbated trends that contribute to increasing gender inequalities, as well as helping to fuel the current violence. These trends bring into question Iraqi women’s ability to fully participate in the public sphere, despite many efforts by Iraqi women’s groups to protect and promote women’s rights in post-Ba‘th Iraq