Female Iraqi women with pro-Western tendencies in dress and looks

Abdulbaki v. Holder, No. 12-3012 (6th Cir. Feb. 1, 2013) (unpublished, available through PACER)

The Court reversed the BIA and remanded this Iraqi woman's asylum case.  The court found that this is a particular social group.  "[W]omen who refuse to conform to a government’s gender-specific laws and
repressive social norms or who do not adhere to a female dress code may satisfy the Board’s definition
of a particular social group if the alien’s opposition to the norm or code 'is so profound that she would
choose to suffer the severe consequences of noncompliance,' showing that her beliefs are fundamental
to her identity and conscience."

Victims should not have to be willing to suffer martyrdom before being able to claim persecution.
The concurrence questioned whether the ten percent threshold was too high.