In the through-the-looking-glass world of the new Baghdad, there is hardly any space left for women in the public sphere. I only see women on the streets on Fridays, when they walk with their husbands and families, almost always in abaya or hijab.
The words of a young actor, 28-year-old Shams (whose name means Sunshine), haunt me. ‘I feel like a little doll, like a child,’ she complained when I met her at her play rehearsal. While on stage she was free to dance, emote and move with other men and women, off stage her life was confined to home or ‘trips to the market in a car, with my aunt and my brother. I can’t even shop for food on my own. It’s just too risky.’
