IRAQ’S ‘LIVING WATER’ IS DYING: How climate change threatens Mandaean religious rituals
By Nagham Makki in Basra On a quiet morning along the banks of the Shatt al-Arab, beneath a bridge, Mazen al-Naif, the spiritual leader of the Mandaean religious community in the southern province of Basra, steps into the water wearing the traditional white garments of his faith. The “rasta” robe clings to the 55-year-old’s legs,…
13/06/2026
ON THE FRONTLINES OF CLIMATE CHANGE: How Iraqi women are impacted most
By Mawj Iyad in Baghdad On the outskirts of Baghdad, the landscape is shifting in ways that are impossible to ignore. Soil once rich and fertile is turning salty. Water sources are drying up or becoming too polluted to use. Smoke from refineries, burn pits and trash fires hangs low over villages, forming a grey…
07/06/2026
BREAKING WITH BARBER’S TRADITION: A young Iraqi combines mobility with
By Mustafa Jmal Murad in Baghdad The rest of his family used to love football and in the neighborhood where he grew up, the Dora district in Baghdad, the alleys often came alive with the shouts of children chasing a ball or each other. But Saif Saad, 23, didn't often join them. Instead he was…
BALLS OF CLAY: Working with the ‘seed bomber’ of Maysan
By Mahdi al-Saadi in Maysan Every rainy season in Iraq, a man nicknamed “conqueror of the desert” by locals can be seen throwing small clay balls around the remote eastern districts of Maysan province in southern Iraq. It may sound odd but in fact, there is a distinctive environmental reason behind the scenes. Each of…
ONE MANGROVE AT A TIME: The Iraqis ‘greening’ Basra’s waterways
By Nagham Makki in Basra Near a narrow creek in Khor Al Zubair in southern Iraq, 28-year-old Dunia Safaa Abdul Hussein picks her way across thick mud, with a mangrove seedling cradle in her hands. She moves cautiously between neat rows of young plants. Each one is a small promise of a new life, she…
MEMORIES OF THE OCCUPATION: Dreams that died without a shot
By Nagham Makki in Basra The radio once echoed through my late father's room, it's sound filling our home. He would grip it tightly, holding onto his link to the world, while I listened by the door, anxious. Back then, our house had become too small. The war [when the US invaded Iraq in late…
DANGER ON HOME FRONT: How the Iran war is increasing
By Murtada al-Hudoud in Dhi Qar It feels like a nightmare at home, says Um Mohammed, an Iraqi woman who lives in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. Since the US and Israel attacked Iran, sparking a regional conflict, neighboring Iraq has been impacted by things like fuel shortages and rising prices. Locals are worried…
FREEDOM RIDERS: Anbar’s first female horse-riding instructor
By Fatima Karim in Anbar In Anbar, Haajar al-Obaidi has made history as the first female riding trainer in the province. This makes al-Obaidi, 30, something of a pioneer for women in the comparatively conservative province where tradition often limits female opportunities. Al-Obaidi originally comes from the town of Hit in Anbar province and has…
LIFELINE FOR THE DISABLED: How an Iraqi security guard ended
By Mahdi Gharib in Baghdad On the outskirts of Baghdad, in the neighborhood of Nahrawan, one man's modest home has become a beacon of hope for children with the genetic disorder, Down Syndrome. A security guard by profession, local man Hussam has established a small school for 38 children with special needs. When his own…
REACHING FOR THE STARS: Iraq’s first female-led astronomy club
By Sarah al-Qaher in Baghdad As a child, Iraqi woman Samah Falah was captivated by the sky above her. "I loved staring at the stars while lying on the roof, listening to my mother’s stories," she says. "As I grew older, my fascination with astronomy only deepened. However there were few opportunities to join institutions…
A LIFE LEFT BEHIND: The hidden struggles of Iraq’s female
By Khuloud al-Amiry in Baghdad In the southern heartlands of Iraq, a quiet crisis is brewing, a crisis that for many means leaving behind everything they’ve ever known. It’s a crisis borne of drought, climate change and government policies. And it is the stories told by women forced to abandon their ancestral homes that provide…
FEMALE FINANCIAL FUTURES: How e-commerce is expanding Iraqi women’s horizons
By Hanan Salem in Baghdad After the COVID-19 pandemic caused her to lose her job at a travel and tourism company, Haneen al-Ramahi, a 28-year-old from Iraq's southern Muthanna province, was forced to look for another way of supporting herself and her family. As it is for many Iraqi women, who are dealing with limited…
