Journalist Binar Mustafa explores in his blog text how the progress made in the fight for gender equality gives people the strength to keep going even as conditions become more challenging.
The global political situation has led to setbacks in women's rights and gender equality in many places.
In the Middle East, the consequences are significantly greater, more serious, and more dangerous than elsewhere, but even in the midst of this dark era, there are still significant glimmers of hope.
In the media, the Middle East is portrayed as a region of crises and wars, but we rarely hear about the gender equality movement active in the region and how it is fighting for its cause.
In Iraq, a new law allows girls to be married from the age of 9
A lot has happened in the Middle East over the past year. In Iraq, the parliament passed an amendment to the Personal Status Law that allows marriages to be contracted in accordance with the Shia Jaafari school of law. The law supersedes the progressive law of 1959.
Under the Jaafari law, girls can, among other things, marry at the age of nine, whereas the previous law set the minimum age for marriage at 18.
The legislative change also dramatically undermines women’s other rights: for example, a divorced woman has no right to, fir example, child support or a dowry. Inheritance rights are diminished, children remain with their mother for only two years, and if a divorced woman remarries, she loses all custody rights.
The law requires all marriages to be registered as either Sunni or Shia, which brings sectarian divisions into every household.
Equality activists are working tirelessly to advance women’s rights
The activists succeeded in curbing some of the worst provisions, but the law still violates international agreements. The injustices that girls and women in Iraq have faced for years have now been partially legalized.
The law has gone into effect, but it is being strongly opposed. Repealing the law is a key priority for gender equality activists.
Women led the previous uprising in Iran in 2022. At that time, women succeeded in having the morality police disbanded, and the mandatory hijab law is no longer enforced in practice. These direct achievements of the protests are empowering citizens.
These successes have instilled confidence that it is possible to break free from the current regime.
Any change that takes place in Iran will most likely come from the grassroots level. And it is even more likely that women will be at the forefront and play a leading role. Previous protests and uprisings have already demonstrated this.
The gains made in the fight for gender equality motivate people to keep going even under difficult circumstances
There has also been good news recently from Iraqi Kurdistan. An independent women’s organization, which was a significant advocate for gender equality in the 1990s, established the region’s first women’s shelter with the help of volunteers. However, the local government shut down the shelter in 2000. The shelter did important work to prevent honour killings.
In the spring of 2025, after a long fight, the organization announced that it would resume its activities, immediately raising hopes that women’s status in the region would be strengthened.
These events show that even though the world is going through difficult times—and perhaps even more difficult times in the turbulent Middle East—the fight for women’s rights and equality continues.
International Women’s Day on March 8 is a symbol of this fight. And the fight itself is what makes the day meaningful.
It’s not just about a single day on the calendar. It’s a reminder that equality between women and men doesn’t happen on its own. Achieving equality requires a ongoing struggle.
Promoting equality requires everyone who values equality, regardless of gender or background, as well as broad international solidarity, so that the struggle does not fade away.
Progress made toward gender equality affects all of us, everywhere.
Binar Mustafa
The author is a Kurdish-speaking journalist and the author of Woman, Life, Freedom! -a book chronicling the events of Iran’s recent uprising.
