Benin Elias
Under Official and Clerical Protection: The Boom of Fraudulent Shrines
Alawiya bint al-Hasan is the name given to a shrine established last year in the agricultural area of Al-Bu Hadari in Kufa district, Najaf governorate, southern Iraq. It joins hundreds of shrines, maqams, and religious sites that suddenly appeared in Iraq over the past two decades, which specialists describe as fake, lacking any scientific or religious basis. Umm Mohammed, 66, passionately defends the supposed shrine—not only as its caretaker but because, as she says, she is closely linked to its discovery on her private farm. She recounts how her disabled son had a vision during the Arbaeen pilgrimage (an annual…
A Long History of Deprivation: Iraqi Women Denied Their Inheritance
Khadija Ahmed (79 years old) is the last surviving member of her wealthy family, which consisted of her parents and six siblings, three of whom were male. However, she did not receive any of the movable or immovable assets from her father’s estate, which was based on vast lands and properties in Duhok Governorate. These assets were divided among her brothers and later among their male descendants only. Her father was a tribal leader whose influence extended over a large area on the border between Iraq and Turkey in northern Duhok. The tradition of not passing on lands or even…
Freely available weapons and a growing influence of non-state forces
Hawraa, a 32-year-old lawyer from Najaf, left the legal profession after practicing for nearly seven years. Her decision came after she was assaulted over a personal status lawsuit she was handling in 2022. Without a job, she turned to the cosmetics industry, which has since become her new source of income. She regretfully says, "I had ambitions to continue working in the profession I loved since childhood, but the risks surrounding our work, including the threat of death, have become too great. The state and its laws are powerless to protect us." Due to the widespread security chaos in Iraq…
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Sexual Harassment in Universities: Silence in Academic Campuses about the
The law is lenient and society often sees the victim as the perpetrator Shatha (30 years old, a pseudonym) entered a master’s program after excelling in her undergraduate studies at a university in Baghdad. While working as a teaching assistant and ranking among the top students, she initially believed achieving…
