We congratulate Dr. Choman Hardi, Center for Gender ad Development Studies founder and director, who published her chapter "The Women’s Movement in Kurdistan-Iraq" in The Cambridge History of the Kurds (April, 2021). Dr. Choman explains that the history of women’s activism in Kurdistan-Iraq is closely intertwined with the history of political resistance. In the 1950s, for example, women mobilized against political oppression. Later, they joined the struggle in various capacities but few women played leadership roles in the resistance. The chapter elaborates on the change in 1992, when civil society organizations, including women’s rights organizations, proliferated. This growth in the 1990s and 2000s, combined with the end of the four-year Kurdish civil war in 1998, led to the formation of collaborative networks and umbrella organizations. Now, she says, we can speak of a women’s movement that, despite its internal shortcomings and outside obstacles, has been able to bring about change in the region. The chapter builds on two earlier studies by Dr. Choman about the women’s movement in Kurdistan-Iraq. This piece highlights the achievements and limitations, and focuses on what to do next to overcome the perceived stagnation.
Image description: There are two images. One is a red book cover with black and white writing. The top range reads The Cambridge History of the; in the middle range, in larger font and all-caps, reads The Kurds; the bottom range lists three editors. The other shows a woman with shoulder-length curly dark hair standing in a hallway. In 1/8 profile, she faces the camera, smiling slightly. She wears a sage green v-neck knit sweater; her arms are crossed over her waist. The background consists of frosted glass doors and windows to the left and empty bookshelves to the right.