After the mid-1970s, when demands to grant Iraqi women equal rights in the different aspects of political, social, economic and military life were on the rise, a decision package was issued by the Iraqi government in line with these demands. For example, the personal status law was modified, granting women the right to file for divorce and prohibiting men from marrying a second wife without a prior written approval from the first. It also opened the door for women to join the police and military forces, rendering the sight of female officers in the army and police normal for Iraqis.

During the last 25 years, however, the empowerment of Iraqi women has witnessed a slump and men taking multiple wives has made a huge comeback. Political and civil work of women dwindled, after the former regime of Saddam Hussein led a ferocious attack against it and targeted the leaderships and popular bases of religious and leftist parties. In addition, the deteriorating economic situation — which resulted from the economic sanctions imposed in 1990 by the UN Security Council on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait — left women choosing between two devils, either stay at home, do the housework and raise the kids, or keep a state job with a salary that barely pays for transportation to get to work. Women were forced to opt for the first option.

The dramatic change in the power structure, which came to light after the US invasion and the toppling of the Saddam regime in 2003, has created a golden chance for women to return to the political and civil life. According to a quota share, the Iraqi electoral law gave women a share in parliamentary seats of no less than 25%.

It is true that political parties have used this quota to gain a larger number of parliamentary seats, through fielding female candidates who lacked the skills and knowledge required for this position, notably during the first elections held in 2005. Some female members of parliament (MPs), however, have proved to have a strong presence during parliamentary discussions and interrogations, and the speaker of parliament as well as parliamentary committees found it hard to deal with them. This has led some female MPs to call for quotas matching their demographic weight, while others were tempted to demand higher positions in the state, such as deputy president and speaker of parliament.