Beyond the binary
Why nuanced gender backlash analysis matters in Iraq
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19217636 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zeynep Kaya (0000-0003-1606-2460, University of Sheffield, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-13 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Third World Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0143-6597 • E-ISSN: 1360-2241 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01436597.2026.2664087 |
| OpenAlex | W7161022677 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 50 |
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
Austerity · Backlash · Feminism · Work (physics) · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East
Women in the Middle East
Gender Transformations
Women in Iraq
Transnational Feminist Crossings
“Under Western Eyes” Revisited
Unpacking “Gender Ideology” and the Global Right’s Antigender Countermovement
Special issue introduction
Nation Building and Women
The Political in Iraq’s Thawra Teshreen
Feminism(s) and anti-gender backlash
The variety of anti-gender alliances and democratic backsliding in Turkey
The personal is global political
Contesting Women's Rights
Nothing is as it seems
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Counteracting Challenges to Gender Equality in the Era of Anti-Gender Campaigns
Gender Mainstreaming as a Universal Tool for Constitution Writing
Deconstructing Anti-Feminist Backlash
Political Fiction Meets Gender Myth
The New Backlash
Globalisation masculinities, empire building and forced prostitution
Negotiating Rights in Iraq
The New Competition in Multilateral Norm-Setting
Disentangling and Locating the “Global Right
The Conservative Backlash against Gender in Latin America
Ambivalent Sexism? Shifting Patterns of Gender Bias in Five Arab Countries
International Norm Dynamics and Political Change
Sexism and the Far‐Right Vote
Women and Gender in Iraq
Dialects of Women's Empowerment
Between the hammer and the anvil
Thinking past 'Western' IR
On the necessity of critical race feminism for women, peace and security
Norm spoiling
Global-local dynamics in anti-feminist discourses
Women, Peace and Security across scales
Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others
Introduction
Bargaining With Patriarchy
Gender found Guilty
Gender in the Middle East
"Gender as "Ebola from Brussels
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |