Gender-based violence against civilian women in postinvasion Iraq: (Re)politicizing George W. Bush's silent legacy

This article explores the increase in gender-based violence against civilian women in Iraq since 2003 and connects it to the U.S.-led invasion of that country. It outlines the complex nature of the gender-based violence and the impact that it has had on civilian women in Iraq. It then analyzes the links between this violence and the politics of the postinvasion period. This article also explores how this violence has been politicized. Ultimately, the article (re)politicizes gender-based violence through a feminist lens and argues that the security of Iraq's women is fundamental to the stability of Iraq as a whole.