Findings
I. Qualitative Case Study: Main Trends and Narrative Techniques of Online
Gender-based violence during different stages of the Iraqi Parliamentary
electoral cycle in 2025
Dominant narratives during the pre-election period (August - November 2025 | 3 months before the
election)
Several overarching narratives shaped the digital and political environment in the lead up to the
elections. These narratives were identified through qualitative analysis of the monitored social media
dataset described in the methodology section, including account-level content, high-engagement
posts, and associated comment sections across Arabic and Kurdish platforms. The findings below
reflect recurring patterns observed across the monitored sample and do not purport to represent the
totality of political discourse surrounding the elections. Narrative 1: Morality and social harm
First, women’s political participation was repeatedly framed as a moral or social issue rather than a
political one. This was evident in the persistent focus of posts and comments on women candidates’
appearance, personal behaviour, family roles, and perceived conformity to social norms, while
references to political competence, legislative experience, or policy positions were largely absent.
Across the monitored content, women’s participation was presented as conditional and subject to
public moral approval, reflecting broader social expectations surrounding women’s presence in public
life in Iraq.
Narrative 2: Corruption and competence accusations of corruption, financial opportunism, and quota
manipulation were widely circulated in relation to women candidates. These narratives appeared
consistently across posts and comments that portrayed women as beneficiaries of backroom deals or
symbolic candidates included to fulfil quota requirements rather than as independent political actors.
The recurrence of these accusations across different pages and platforms points to a systematic
pattern of delegitimization rather than isolated commentary, serving to reinforce broader distrust of
women’s leadership and political agency.
Narrative 3: Anti-gender narratives
Feminist agendas and gender equality positions were framed as threats to cultural or religious values.
Women candidates associated with reformist discourse or feminist language were frequently
portrayed as hostile to societal norms or religious principles. This framing was documented through
posts and visual content that linked women’s political positions to moral danger or social disruption,
and which provided rhetorical cover for exclusionary and abusive content.
Narrative 4: Election boycott narratives
Pressure generated by boycott narratives was normalized as a feature of political competition.
Analysis of the monitored dataset shows that calls for disengagement were frequently accompanied
by moral condemnation of candidates who chose to participate. In several documented cases, women
candidates explicitly cited Muqtada al-Sadr’s calls for electoral disengagement as a factor in their
decision to withdraw. Participation was reframed as a moral failure rather than a legitimate political
choice, intensifying pressure on women whose political presence was already subject to
contestation.
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