What Kind of Liberation?: Women and the Occupation of Iraq

by Nadje Al-Ali

In the run-up to war in Iraq, the Bush administration assured the world that America's interest was in liberation—especially for women. The first book to examine how Iraqi women have fared since the invasion, What Kind of Liberation? reports from the heart of the war zone with dire news of scarce resources, growing unemployment, violence, and seclusion. Moreover, the book exposes the gap between rhetoric that placed women center stage and the present reality of their diminishing roles in the "new Iraq." Based on interviews with Iraqi women's rights activists, international policy makers, and NGO workers and illustrated with photographs taken by Iraqi women, What Kind of Liberation? speaks through an astonishing array of voices. Nadje Al-Ali and Nicola Pratt correct the widespread view that the country's violence, sectarianism, and systematic erosion of women's rights come from something inherent in Muslim, Middle Eastern, or Iraqi culture. They also demonstrate how in spite of competing political agendas, Iraqi women activists are resolutely pressing to be part of the political transition, reconstruction, and shaping of the new Iraq.

Genres: Feminism, Middle East, Politics, Nonfiction, History

240 pages, Hardcover

First published December 8, 2008

About the 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)

Reviews

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's nothing wrong with this book or its arguments: parts were interesting but overall it didn't say much that was new to me, but that might just be cause I've followed this subject way too closely so your mileage may vary.

If you're writing a political science paper this is the book for you; but if you just want to read one book about Iraqi women before and after and during the war, Nadje Al-Ali's "Iraqi Women" is way more interesting (don't be fooled by the generic title) and lets its subjects speak for themselves.

[Thérèse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting book about the lives and status of women in Iraq--before 2003, and after 2003. Anyone who cares about what we're doing over there, or who doesn't know much about what we're doing, should read it.

[Messia Gondorchin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great if you’re interesting in personal experiences from women during the U.S. occupation of Iraq at the start of 2003. However, I criticize the authors for depending too much on hindsight. The authors argue that it was U.S. occupation that bred neglect on Iraqi women’s empowerment, yet ignores (or at least leaves out) the heavy differences in the Islamic religion that are heavily rooted in the failure of the IGC. Giving credit where it is due, the authors do a great job at arguing that the U.S ambition to consolidate the previous Ba’th regime

[Luke Held · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read and introduction to the LONG history of feminism in Iraq and the decades of setback that US interference led to. A great read and interesting history.