Shermeen Yousif, at The Blogs

Shermeen Yousif

Sep 5, 2023, 5:12 AM

An AI-generated image depicting an imaginary scene in Iraq with doves as symbols of peace.

Iraq, a nation replete with historical grandeur and cultural richness, has been ensnared in the predicament of conflict and instability for decades. Notable periods of unrest include the 2003 war, sectarian violence and civil war post 2003, the rise...

Jul 8, 2023, 3:09 PM

After Two Decades of a Corruption Era in Iraq

On April 12, 2023, the Iraqi Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) formalized their commitment to act against corruption by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that aims to foster transparency, accountability, and integrity within both the...

Apr 3, 2023, 2:18 AM

Women Rights Violations in Troubled Iraq

Iraq has struggled for many years with human rights violations, notably in respect to women's rights. Despite activists’ attempts to address the legal system and defend women's rights, Iraqi women continue to encounter violence in all aspects of life....

Mar 11, 2023, 1:11 PM

Featured Post

Iraq’s new online content regulation is a big step backward

A local Iraqi boy takes photographs with a cell phone during an opening ceremony for a new vocational school facility in the Shawra Wa Um Jidir area of eastern Baghdad, Iraq on June 11, 2022. (DVIDSHUB, via Wikimedia Commons)

Freedom of expression is a basic human right, even when offensive, and blocking people from opining on social media violates it

Jul 26, 2022, 12:39 AM

Authoritarianism in Iraq and the Abraham Accords

In light of the recent disturbing Iraqi anti-normalization law, and the tumbling efforts to form a new government after 9 months of elections, the Iraqi political landscape is undergoing another difficult phase of a failing state. This is happening...

Jul 10, 2022, 6:29 AM

The Danger of the Iraqi Anti-Normalization Law

Within the political crisis of war-scarred Iraq, it is often really difficult for lawmakers to have a consensus. However, on May 26, 2022, the Iraqi parliament voted unanimously to pass a bill that criminalizes normalization and any communication or...

About Me

Shermeen is an assistant professor, a female academic who witnessed women’s rights issues within the civil unrest of post-war Iraq, escaped to the United States and earned a doctorate degree. She is an activist and a writer who focuses on social and political change in Iraq and the Middle East, as well as feminism and increasing awareness of women’s rights in the region.