Confronting the International Patriarchy Iran, Iraq and the United States of America

The Middle East is accused of having a 'democracy deficit' but little attention is paid to how external states - often in the name of women's rights - inflict collective punishments that severely restrict the political and participatory of Arab women. The authors of this collection of articles question a secular world order that is no less judgmental and destructive than inherited dogma. In Iran, gains in women's rights and privileges are being lost due to increasing international pressure from sanctions and trade embargoes. In Iraq, women's rights have suffered a drastic set-back as a result of external interventions led by the United States: Gulf War I, thirteen years of a draconian UN blockade, and an occupying force which brought to power a conservative government in 2003. Local conservative religious practices, culture and institutions deny women's freedom of expression but equally as detrimental to women's lives, is the militarization of the Gulf by Western armies and the constant threat of bombardment by Israel and its allies. This book, suitable for scholars of Women and Gender Studies and International Relations, demonstrates not only the hardships, but women's ability to survive under the shifting alliances of the International Patriarchy.