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Reports

Iraq’s Queer women: Survival under false identities and secret lives 

“I am constantly reprimanded for rejecting marriage proposals, especially since turning thirty. I often think of emigrating, as fleeing seems the only escape. If my family discovers my sexual orientation, they will kill me in the blink of an eye”. The cruel reality for lesbians who want to live their lives freely.

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Stories

“Al-Taʿshaat”– How the sexual exploitation of Iraqi minors became an acceptable act 

The terms “Al-taʿshaat” [Iraqi term for teens], “Al-heloueen” [catamites], and “Al-froukh” [chicks], which we categorically oppose the use of, characterise gender stereotypes that were created in relation to “masculinity” by heteronormative society, and thus define certain social roles accordingly. This is similar to the social perception of women’s gender roles. The sexual exploitation of Iraqi minors has been transformed into an acceptable act.

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Reports

Al-ʿAsa’ib’s Business Ravages the Banks of the Tigris

Around 50 quarries are scattered in the Tigris River and on its banks in the city of Mosul, with giant excavators desiccating it and making its aquatics vulnerable to extinction. But money, power, and the impulsion to return and rebuild, are the key drivers behind the continuation of this process that ravages the river and threatens its future.
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Reports

Their Mistakes are Fatal. Unlicensed Beauty Centers Owned by Personalities and Protected by Officials

Hundreds of beauty centres are performing operations that may be fatal. Holding them accountable is almost impossible due to the fact that they are owned by well-known personalities who have strong relations with officials and decision-makers in the state.
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Reports

Wives lives are wasted waiting for divorce: Men have priority over women in Iraqi courts

A man can obtain a divorce ruling from the courts within 15 to 30 days. A woman has to wait between up to five years to obtain the same legal ruling often giving up many or all her rights.
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Stories

Livelihoods are turning forests into deserts: Sardar cuts Kirkuk’s trees while Khurshid turns them into coal

Sardar Gharib does not regret cutting down thousands of trees. “This is the source of my livelihood and support for my two children. It is the livelihood of dozens of unemployed people” he says as he thinks about using his saw to clear a new forest.
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Stories

Digital Miners in Iraq: Forever seeking profit even in the event of a Prime Minister’s assassination!

Did the Prime Minister die by an airstrike targeting his house, or was he injured? Why did armed men take to the streets and storm the Green Zone? Who won the elections and who will be the new president? These are matters of no concern to digital miners. They live in isolation. Their language is numbers. Life at night suits them more than in the day.
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Stories

The Tishreen Museum: A project to document an uprising ends up destroyed

Mustafa Al-Kadhemi’s brother and advisor argued for a lawsuit that prevented the Turkish restaurant from being transferred into a Tishreen Museum. The judiciary denies this, and the rest of the institutions reply: “We don’t know.”
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Reports

When Authorities were Confronted with the Tishreen youth uprising…they were legalising killing to maintain order

The killing of demonstrators in October 2019 was not a one-off act but rather an institutional and pervasive strategy to deal with the protests which were threatening Iraq’s political system.
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Features

Water Means Everything.. The Migration of People and Animals of the Marshes from Paradise to Cities

Hamza Salman and Abu Ali watched the water disappear around them. They had to save what could be saved in order to continue living. As one of them embarks on a migration journey, the second hopes for a miraculous solution.