Document details

Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World

New York: Penguin Books (2019), xxiv, 278 pp.

Contains illustrations

ISBN 978-0-14-313341-4 (pbk); 978-0-525-50520-4 (online)

"International media coverage of the Arab world and its many complex, interconnected conflicts is dominated by the work of Western correspondents, many of whom are white and male--meaning we see only one side of the story. But a growing number of intrepid Arab women, whose access to and understanding of their subjects are vastly different than their Western counterparts, are working tirelessly to shape more nuanced narratives about their homelands through their work as reporters and photojournalists. Their voices have rarely been heard on the international stage--until now. 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 are (quite literally) close to home. From sexual harassment on the streets of Cairo to the impossibility 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 or gain entry to places that an outsider would never be able to access. Their daring, shocking, and heartfelt stories, told here for the first time, shatter stereotypes about Arab women and provide an urgently needed perspective on a part of the world that is often misunderstood." (Publisher description)
REMEMBRANCES
The Woman Question / Hannah Aliam, 3
Love and Loss in a Time of Revolution / Nada Bakri, 13
What Normal? / Hwaida Saad, 28
On a Belated Encounter with Gender / Lina Attalah, 45
CROSSFIRE
Maps of Iraq / Jane Arraf, 59
Spin / Natacha Yazbeck, 69
Bint el-Baladhy Nour Malas, 80
Hull & Hawija / Hind Hassan, 97
RESILIENCE
Just Stop / Eman Helal, 111
Three Girls from Morocco / Aida Alami, 125
Words, Not Weapons / Shamael Elnoor, 137
Yemeni Women with Fighting Spirits / Amira Al-Sharif, 150
EXILE
Between the Explosions / Asmaa al-Ghoul, 169
Fight or Flight / Heba Shibani, 184
Breathing Fear / Lina Slnjab, 196
Hurma / Zaina Erhaim, 206
TRANSITION
Syria Undone / Zeina Karam, 221
An Orange Bra in Riyadh / Donna Abu-Nasr, 238
Dying Breed / Roula Khalaf, 254