Beyond the binary: why nuanced gender backlash analysis matters in Iraq

This article critically examines how to understand the backlash against gender in Iraq. The international policy and development world adopts a predominantly essentialist approach to gender in Iraq, and in most of the Middle East, viewing any gender clamp-down as a manifestation of age-old patriarchy. The postcolonial feminist perspective, on the other hand, rightly questions the applicability of Western explanatory frameworks to non-Western contexts, refusing the Western hegemonic conception of progress and inviting a complex analysis of power. While acknowledging the validity of postcolonial feminist critiques, this article argues that what is considered ‘Western’ may not be that different from the ‘non-Western’. It suggests that there are shared dynamics even across seemingly disparate contexts. Drawing on extensive empirical data, it demonstrates that the backlash in Iraq simultaneously shares characteristics with, and exhibits unique features from, the backlash elsewhere, shaped by specific long-term contextual factors. This nuanced perspective is crucial: oversimplified ‘difference’ arguments inadvertently bolster claims by backlash proponents who frame feminism and gender equality as alien, Western impositions, thereby hindering effective advocacy for gender rights.