Katrien De Graef, PhD (2004) in Oriental Languages and Cultures, is associate professor of Assyriology and History of the Ancient Near East at Ghent University. She has published extensively on 2ndmillennium BC socio-economic history of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Iran). Her current research focusses on the role of women in Old Babylonian economy, religion and society. She is a member of the Gender, Methodology, and the Ancient Near East (GeMANE) Study group, a scientific platform for the international community of Ancient Near Eastern scholars working on gender related themes.