About us
HuRiIA is a co-research project conducted with Iraqi women living in Finland. It seeks to uncover and give recognition and visibility to 50 Iraqi women’s creative responses and resistance as they pursue their rights in Finland. While we aim to scrutinise their adaptation and creation of new spatial practices to access their fundamental human rights, navigating through multiple normative frameworks shaped by both Finnish and Iraqi contexts, the tasks are meant to support creative self-expression, strengthen their narratives, and acts of resistance. In HuRiIA, important themes to investigate, such as access to overall freedom, (الحرية “huriia” an Arabic word meaning “freedom”) and influence of different norms in access to rights were identified and selected in collaboration with a group of Iraqi women.
Our goals
- To explore the impact of the interactions between various (legal) spaces—such as countries, homes, streets, restaurants, the internet, and personal bodies—and normative orders—including state law, religious norms, tribal law, and family rules—on the lives and access to human rights of Iraqi women in Finland.
- To develop creative scientific methods for investigating and presenting the lived experiences and challenges faced by these women across physical, digital, and imaginary spaces.
- To create a significant societal impact by amplifying the voices of Iraqi women, engaging actively in social debates, and producing educational materials for seminars aimed at stakeholders monitoring fundamental rights in Finland and Europe.
Funding
This research project is funded by Kone Foundation. Kone Foundation is an independent non-profit organisation that awards grants to promote academic research, culture and the arts. We pursue active arts and research policies and constantly seek to provide alternatives to the mainstream.