15.12.2021

Discussing the Most Important Rights for Women in Iraq

In their working paper, Discussing the Most Important Rights for Women in Iraq, the authors, Katri Gadd and Faleha Ubeis, present their initial findings from an online survey and in-depth interviews concerning Iraqi women’s perceptions of their rights. This first stage of the ongoing research project aims to find out what kind of rights are considered as the most important by women in Iraq and what kind of challenges they face in enjoying their rights.

According to the authors, people incorporate legal norms and rules of social conduct over time and follow these rules, often without conscious realization. In the lives of Iraqi women, such norms and rules originate from traditional values and duties, own/collective memory and experiences, religious, tribal and sectarian norms and identities. Occasionally, the multiple norms and rules contradict and possibly even prevent persons from enjoying their rights. In order to maintain cultural sensitivity in human rights discussions, it is essential to discover and comprehend the multiple ways in which human rights are understood and what kinds of rights are seen as important.

Katri Gadd is postdoctoral researcher at the Åbo Akademi University Institute for Human Rights. Faleha Ubeis works at the consulting and marketing company Sabisk in the Netherlands. The working paper is published in the Institute for Human Rights Working paper series, which presents research work in progress.

Contact: kgadd@abo.fi and faleha@sabisk.com