Our Women on the Ground
Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Nineteen Arab women journalists speak out about what it’s like to report on their changing homelands in this first-of-its-kind essay collection, with a foreword by CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour
“A stirring, provocative and well-made new anthology . . . that rewrites the hoary rules of the foreign correspondent playbook, deactivating the old clichés.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times
A growing number of intrepid Arab and Middle Eastern sahafiyat—female journalists—are working tirelessly to shape nuanced narratives about their changing homelands, often risking their lives on the front lines of war. From sexual harassment on the streets of Cairo to the difficulty of traveling without a male relative in Yemen, their challenges are unique—as are their advantages, such as being able to speak candidly with other women at a Syrian medical clinic or with men on Whatsapp who will go on to become ISIS fighters, rebels, or pro-regime soldiers.
In Our Women on the Ground, nineteen of these women tell us, in their own words, about what it’s like to report on conflicts that (quite literally) hit close to home. Their daring and heartfelt stories, told here for the first time, shatter stereotypes about the region’s women and provide an urgently needed perspective on a part of the world that is frequently misunderstood.
INCLUDING ESSAYS BY: Donna Abu-Nasr, Aida Alami, Hannah Allam, Jane Arraf, Lina Attalah, Nada Bakri, Shamael Elnoor, Zaina Erhaim, Asmaa al-Ghoul, Hind Hassan, Eman Helal, Zeina Karam, Roula Khalaf, Nour Malas, Hwaida Saad, Amira Al-Sharif, Heba Shibani, Lina Sinjab, and Natacha Yazbeck
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lebanese-British journalist Hankir compiles essays by 19 female reporters from across the Middle East, including Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, Palestine, and Egypt. Some are veteran journalists, others just emerging in their fields. Many risked their lives at the centers of conflict zones, such as Hannah Allam, who focused on the "tragic and resilient Iraqi women, a metaphor for the country itself" while covering the Iraq War for McClatchy Newspapers, and Nour Malas, who reported on the Syrian refugee crisis as she grappled with her Syrian identity and the destruction of her ancestral homeland. Others offer cultural critiques: Eman Helal chronicles sexual harassment in Egypt; Donna Abu Nasr evokes the changing state of women's rights in Saudi Arabia ("when I saw women selling underwear" in Riyadh, she writes, "I choked up"); and Amira Al-Sharif describes her "unusual situation" as a single female photographer in her 30s, working in her native Yemen, where photography is a "man's job" and most Yemenis get married in their teens. Offering a blend of memoir, war reporting, cultural commentary, history, and politics, these powerful essays deliver insightful analysis of the upheavals in the Middle East from committed and skilled writers.
Customer Reviews
Storytellers Of Another Dimension.
Where do I begin......
"Our Women on the Ground," is an incrdible aesthetic series of stories by some of the fascinating women of our modern generation. My MidEast sisters (not all who would consider themselves, "Arab") grapple with their identity and they do not shy away from the activism thrust on their shoulders. I have come to believe "objectivity" is a game created by patriarchal systems benefitting from elitism, and these works, these incredible women show me: for how can my MidEast Sisters not tell the stories as they see them? They are more than journalists. Some fumble with the language only ever spoken by their parents far from their ethnic roots, others, fight to stand in their empowerment, they lose partners to bombs, text with soldier boys who turn from soft and flirty to hardened warriors, they battle family expectations and take pride in their work, even when it conflicts with Western media expectations. Their stories inspire me. 'Sahufia' is a word many of us used in the war zones to get past the checkpoints, that is 'Female journalist'...BUT these women have earned it as a title, as an esteemed position, uniform brass, above any of us.
And I'm still going with a few left, but I can't stop reading. You won't be able to either. I recommend this book, HIGHLY. The storytelling is profound, beautiful and stranger than fiction to colloquialize... ;) Go Read it.