Afro-Iraqis confront legacy of slavery, discrimination in modern Basra

Afro-Iraqis, long marginalized despite deep roots in Basra’s history, are at the center of a national debate after a controversial decision to allocate land exclusively to dark-skinned citizens. Critics call the move politically motivated and racially divisive, while activists recall centuries of systemic exclusion, from slavery under the Abbasids to modern political invisibility.