At dawn in the town of Al-Sadda, buffalo bellows and the smell of fresh milk signal the start of another day. Here, the region’s famous Qaimar Al-Sadda, a rich buffalo-milk clotted cream for which the town is renowned, is still made as it has been…
Movement has become Ishtar Obaid's language of change. Whether on a skateboard, a bicycle, or the jujitsu mat, the two-time world champion has dedicated herself to creating opportunities for Iraqi girls and women to participate in sport, build community, and be visible. Drawing on conversations…
Durr's story traces how a young girl from eastern Baghdad found her way into the world of shooting. Told by her father, he recounts how, with perseverance, family support and hours of training on the humble roof of her home, she went on to win…
This testimony recounts how Kawther Bashar's attempt to escape violence and a forced marriage ended with her murder in the hills of Al-Nahrawan.
Iraq’s social classes were not shaped by market conditions. They emerged according to the ruling order. This article traces how oil, wars, and post-2003 state-building reshaped Iraqi society. Class became tied to…
From primary school to university and the workplace, Doaa, Amal, and Lamees have spent years searching for one of their most basic rights: access to a clean toilet. From dealing with broken,…
In December 2025, the author accessed newly released British government files at The National Archives in London. Twenty-three years after the invasion of Iraq, they shed light on allegations of abuse by…
Iraq’s social classes were not shaped by market conditions. They emerged according to the ruling order. This article traces how oil, wars, and post-2003 state-building reshaped Iraqi society. Class became tied to…
From primary school to university and the workplace, Doaa, Amal, and Lamees have spent years searching for one of their most basic rights: access to a clean toilet. From dealing with broken,…
In December 2025, the author accessed newly released British government files at The National Archives in London. Twenty-three years after the invasion of Iraq, they shed light on allegations of abuse by…
From primary school to university and the workplace, Doaa, Amal, and Lamees have spent years searching for one of their most basic rights: access to a clean toilet. From dealing with broken, absent, locked, or even mixed-gender facilities, their stories reveal the daily struggle that women in Iraq face to find a usable toilet.
In December 2025, the author accessed newly released British government files at The National Archives in London. Twenty-three years after the invasion of Iraq, they shed light on allegations of abuse by UK forces during the 2003 war – revealing how claims long reported by Iraqis were understood and managed within the British state.
How does an Iraqi think the moment war breaks out on thier land, or in neighboring countries? What do they remember? What do they fear? And how do experiences like siege, bombing, shelters, and loss manifest in daily routines? How do they shape the way we eat, sleep, and show up in unseen survival mechanisms? In this collection, we share two experiences on how war and insecurity awaken and persisit within the self, al-nafs, and how they manifest outwardly.
I thought I had moved beyond everything that happened in Baghdad, that a new country might grant me a different life. But my memory still carries the traces of war. After long attempts to understand the fear of the child within me, then the adolescent, then the young woman, I realized that what we carry inside us does not remain behind. It follows us wherever we go.
In this essay, the author writes about protest as inheritance. Beginning with a childhood memory of protest, she traces how the Iraq war came to shape the way she sees the world, where Iraq returns, again and again, in every injustice that follows.
From primary school to university and the workplace, Doaa, Amal, and Lamees have spent years searching for one of their…
From primary school to university and the workplace, Doaa, Amal, and Lamees have spent years searching for one of their most basic rights: access to a clean toilet. From dealing with broken, absent, locked, or even mixed-gender facilities, their stories reveal the daily struggle that women in Iraq face to…
In December 2025, the author accessed newly released British government files at The National Archives in London. Twenty-three years after…
In December 2025, the author accessed newly released British government files at The National Archives in London. Twenty-three years after the invasion of Iraq, they shed light on allegations of abuse by UK forces during the 2003 war - revealing how claims long reported by Iraqis were understood and managed…
How does an Iraqi think the moment war breaks out on thier land, or in neighboring countries? What do they…
How does an Iraqi think the moment war breaks out on thier land, or in neighboring countries? What do they remember? What do they fear? And how do experiences like siege, bombing, shelters, and loss manifest in daily routines? How do they shape the way we eat, sleep, and show…
I thought I had moved beyond everything that happened in Baghdad, that a new country might grant me a different…
I thought I had moved beyond everything that happened in Baghdad, that a new country might grant me a different life. But my memory still carries the traces of war. After long attempts to understand the fear of the child within me, then the adolescent, then the young woman, I…
In this essay, the author writes about protest as inheritance. Beginning with a childhood memory of protest, she traces how…
In this essay, the author writes about protest as inheritance. Beginning with a childhood memory of protest, she traces how the Iraq war came to shape the way she sees the world, where Iraq returns, again and again, in every injustice that follows.
Iraq’s social classes were not shaped by market conditions. They emerged according to the ruling order. This article traces how oil, wars, and post-2003 state-building reshaped Iraqi society. Class became tied to influence and authority rather than to the means...
In this article, the author examines how Iraq’s Personal Status Code has weakened legal safeguards for women and girls, particularly by facilitating child marriage and creating a parallel religious legal regime. Drawing on...
