Report says Iraq's women quota is becoming an effective ceiling

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A report by the British outlet Amwaj says women's representation in Iraq's senior leadership is narrowing, with women members of parliament falling from 95 in the 2021 elections to 84 in the 2025 vote. The cabinet being formed by Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaydi has so far included only one female minister, a gap the report says illustrates the distance between the 25 percent constitutional quota for women and the reality of its implementation. The quota system was first proposed by U.S. Administrator Paul Bremer after 2003, introduced under pressure from women's rights advocates. A 2023 electoral law reform reduced the chances of independent women candidates; the number of women MPs elected outside the quota dropped from 57 in 2021 to 25 in 2025. The report also points to the killing in March of women's rights activist Yanar Mohammed, who had been targeted by conservative groups over her work on shelters. Suheila al-A'sim, deputy head of the Iraq Women's Network, said that defamation, intimidation and bullying of women entering politics remain widespread tactics. Female membership in party leadership bodies also remains low, according to the report. The State of Law party led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has only 12 women in its 400-member general secretariat.