ABSTRACT
Iraqi women were once among the progressive in the region, with the first female government minister and first female judge. Women even benefited in the early period of the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein, who abolished polygamy and promoted the idea of women in the work force. But the situation for women, as well as the rest of Iraq, worsened when Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1991. Women then became the victims of a deteriorating economic situation and a decision by Saddam to make his regime more religious. After the fall of the regime in 2003, Iraqi women were poised to reassert their rights, but have encountered many obstacles.
