Nadje Sadig Al-Ali challenges the myths and misconceptions dominating debates about Iraqi women, bringing a gender perspective to bear on the central political issue of our time. Based on life stories and oral histories of Iraqi women, this book traces the history of Iraq from post-colonial independence to the emergence of a women's movement in the 1950s; from Saddam Hussein's early policy of state feminism to the turn towards greater social conservatism triggered by war and sanctions. Far from being passive victims, Iraqi women have been, and continue to be, key social and political actors. Al-Ali analyses the impact, following the invasion, of occupation and Islamist movements on women's lives, and argues that US-led calls for liberation have produced a greater backlash against Iraqi women.