Expert on contemporary history of women in Iraq

In light of the worsening violence in Iraq and reports of targeted attacks against women, the following University of Victoria faculty member is available to discuss the contemporary history of women before and after the US invasion of Iraq.

Mona Sedky Goode is a PhD candidate in UVic’s Department of History and is a fellow at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, as well as UVic coordinator of the Middle East and Islamic Consortium (MEICON-BC). Goode is an Egyptian-born American Muslim.

Goode is available to speak to the dangers for women if conditions worsen and the current government in Iraq falls. She also points to the damage done to the social and economic position of women in Iraq following the dismantling of the regime of former president Saddam Hussein, which was secular and committed to modernization, albeit one that was state controlled. Prior to US invasion, the status of Iraqi women was one of the highest in the Middle East.

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