The other 'awakening' in Iraq: The women's movement in the first half of the twentieth century

The history of the women's movement in Iraq, during the first half of the twentieth century, has received little attention in scholarly work. This essay enlarges upon the topic using common features characteristic of more central women's movements in the Middle East. The emergence of intellectual debate on women's status, establishment of a myriad of women's organizations, evolution of a women's press, women's participation in the nationalist struggle, the adoption of nationalism as a liberating discourse and development of pan-Arab feminism, are shared characteristics which shed light on developments that occurred in Iraq. The essay suggests that the study of seemingly peripheral movements not only confirms similar patterns of development within the region but might also reveal new insights that transcend regional boundaries.