Iraq

Reform of Iraq's Personal Status Law

Are Shiite forces on the verge of victory?

The Personal Status Law in Iraq encompasses regulations on marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance and more. It could soon be amended, with dramatic consequences for women's and children's rights. Feminists and left-leaning political parties have mobilised to defend it.
Restoring the IS-destruction of cultural heritage

Key to overcome the past

A decade after Islamic State militants tried to destroy the rich history of Iraq and Syria, the hard work to rebuild the nations' cultural heritage continues. The ancient city of Hatra succumbed to an attack by Islamic State fighters. It’s now being repaired.
Kurdish singer Hani Mojtahedi

Myths re-imagined

Kurdish singer Hani Mojtahedi and German electro legend Andi Toma of Mouse On Mars have collaborated on an album that also pays homage to Mojtahedi’s grandfather, a Sufi master
Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan

Kurds drifting away from democracy

In Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan, regional elections are being repeatedly postponed, institutions weakened and structures are becoming more autocratic
Israel, the USA and the Islamic Republic

Understanding Iran's "offensive-defensive" strategy

April 2024 not only saw Iran's unprecedented direct assault on Israel but also a violent crackdown on women in Iran refusing to wear the hijab. So what is behind Tehran's conflicting sense of hubris and insecurity?
Dangerous Instagram?

Iraqi LGBTQ+ community loses safe space

It was always double-edged, but in Iraq, social media was often a comparatively safe place where the local queer community could meet. Recent amendments to Iraqi law are changing all that
Sherko Fatah's Great Wish

A daughter estranged

In his new novel "Der große Wunsch", award-winning author Sherko Fatah tells the story of a father whose daughter meets a supporter of IS and follows him to the Syrian war zone
Climate change in Iraq

When the water buffalo die

Iraq is one of the nations hardest hit by climate change. But the 'land between the two rivers' isn't just drying out, it's also battling groundwater contamination as a result of oil production
Women in Iraq

Breaking down barriers and pushing for independence

After two incredibly tough decades for women since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, it is now cool to be young and female in Iraq. A report from Baghdad
Back to the Iraqi marshes

In 1978, Sylvia Furrer and Holger Hoffmann backpacked through Iraq. 45 years later, they returned with their own vehicle in search of the 'mudhifs', the meeting houses of the Marsh Arabs. Text by Sylvia Furrer, photos by Holger Hoffmann
German immigration policy

Yazidis relive the horror as deportation looms

Recently Germany's "culture of welcome" has given way to a much tougher asylum and immigration policy. Now Yazidi survivors of IS genocide face an uncertain, potentially re-traumatising future
Germany and the Gaza war

Arab criticism of German hypocrisy

Germany used to be a role model for the Arab world. That has changed since the Israeli army killed thousands of civilians in the war against Hamas – with barely a murmur of opposition from German politicians