Iraqi Kurdistan

Kurds Reluctant to Send Troops to Baghdad

Decision to deploy Kurdish troops in Baghdad as part of new security plan is unpopular in the north.

Holding the Government to Account

Leading academic and writer Kanan Makiya argues that without a leadership ready to move beyond sectarian politics, nothing is possible, least of all the defeat of the insurgency. <i><b><a href="http://www.iwpr.net/archive/igr/igr_000.pdf">Iraqi Governanc

Polygamy - Rights and Wrongs

Long denounced as a violation of women's human rights, polygmany is however seen by some women as a legitimate practice.

Death of Editor Shocks Armenia

Who Benefits from Streamlined Indictments?

Tribunal judges claim cuts to indictments will speed up trials - prosecutors fear it will jeopardise their prospects of winning cases.

Security Crisis Puts Paid to Baghdad Wedding Joy

Once lively, loud occasions, marriage ceremonies are now restrained, rather downbeat affairs.

Left on the Shelf

The number of so-called old maids, or unmarried women, in Iraq has increased over the last two decades.

Turkmen Army Unfit for Service

Army recruiters in Turkmenistan will take anyone, no matter how unfit, to fill the ranks of an army whose main job is to provide a free labour force. IWPR has learned that the military is even calling up people with disabilities in its desperate attempt t

Activists Defy Extremists in Call for Tolerance

Female civil society campaigners work with clerics from different faiths to promote dialogue and unity.

Turkmen-Iran Free Trade Zone Withers

Hopes that business and cultural links would be boosted have been dashed by lack of interest from both Turkmen and Iranian governments.