Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World

Our Women on the Ground

‘Determination, grit and humour shine through’ Lindsey Hilsum, Observer 
 
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. 
 
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. 
 
Here, 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. 
 
With a foreword by CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour. 
 
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

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

The journalists in this book have demonstrated the highest professional achievements and courage. . . Without them, the stories of today and tomorrow will remain only partly told.

A refreshing insight...our knowledge of the Middle East is richer and more nuanced thanks to these courageous women; it is long past time that we looked at things from their perspectives.

Showcases journalism at its bravest. Determination, grit and humour shine through the writing.

Zahra Hankir’s pioneering collection is required reading... An antidote to the endless stream of 'clickbait' and 'content', this is journalism at its most honest and reflective – a multi-dimensional narrative about what it means to be a female journalist in the Arab world and in the West... Hankir shines a light on the strength of those who have reported on war and womanhood and invites us to 'listen to what they have to say'. I urge you to accept her invitation.

A stirring, provocative and well-made new anthology . . . a book that banishes all manner of silences... that rewrites the hoary rules of the foreign correspondent playbook, deactivating the old clichés.

[An] inspiring and extraordinary essay collection… the stories these women have to tell are unique, and deeply needed at a time when our gaze so often turns to what’s happening in the Arab world.

These nineteen brief, riveting essays argue for a more honest, experiential approach [to journalism]… Combining personal and professional history, they pull what can often register as distant, indistinguishable struggles into sharp focus...The journalists in Our Women on the Ground both break the rules and take advantage of them, describing as only they can the private lives of women who comprise the bulk of populations where so many men have died.

The essays are at turns searing, poignant, and funny, but what shines through in all of them is the sheer strength of the women writing.

Several of the[se women] have reported bravely on the conflict in Syria and the travails of women living under ISIS rule. . . . They provide a perspective and a range of contacts and ideas born of experience that had previously been largely missing.

In an era where the truth is put up for debate, let’s celebrate these women, who venture into conflict to get at the truth.

Groundbreaking and intimate...allows the reader to imagine what current affairs coverage would look like if it was a continuous examination of a country’s evolution from the perspective of those who live there.

An intimate glimpse into the courage and pressures bearing on the determined women who report on their own homelands... These sahafiyat are observers as well as insiders... while the women display remarkable resilience, they also speak of dilemmas and loss with heart-breaking clarity. Each has made great sacrifices and is trying to process where she stands.

Refreshing (and long overdue) . . . Will appeal to readers of all genders and backgrounds who want to broaden their understanding of the Arab world.

A dazzling book that elegantly demonstrates how to tell stories with humility, affection, and truthfulness.

A remarkable book. The voices of these trailblazing women are even more vital today, when the region’s upheaval cannot be explained without local, and especially female, perspectives.

Hassan Hassan, New York Times bestselling co-author of ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror

With steely courage and pens of fire, these sahafiyat – Arab female journalists – tell the stories of their country’s conflicts, providing rigor, depth and insight few outside commenters could match.

In this groundbreaking anthology, Arab women write of the challenges and beauty of reporting from their homelands. They tell stories of activism, arrest, motherhood, joy, despair, exile and pain, and of how they crossed boundaries and pushed the limits professionally, culturally, and personally. I loved this book, a must-read.

author of The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria

The authors are a who’s who of excellent women writers who have done some of the best journalism in the Arab world.

Out of the gloom of the Middle East, this book brims with new voices – Arab women reporting on their world as no one else has seen it, with courage, inspiration, and resilience. A terrific read, full of insight and surprise.

former foreign editor of The Washington Post and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal

An astounding, affecting collection. Rich with understanding and sincere emotional connection to the people and places that drive the news, this book contains voices that are both fresh and necessary.

author of Women’s Work: A Reckoning with Work and Home

A compelling and gripping read . . . Hankir has created a book that we are all desperate to read.

A refreshing insight into living and working in some of the world's most dangerous places... they upend our understanding of what it means to be a foreign correspondent. Our knowledge of the Middle East is richer and more nuanced thanks to these courageous women; it is long past time that we looked at things from their perspectives

Zahra Hankir (Author, External Editor) Zahra Hankir, a Lebanese British journalist and the editor of Our Women on the Ground, writes about the intersection of politics, culture and society. Her work has appeared in publications including Condé Nast Traveller, the Observer, Times Literary Supplement, BBC News, Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg Businessweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The Rumpus. She was awarded a Jack R. Howard Fellowship in International Journalism to attend the Columbia Journalism School and holds degrees in politics and Middle Eastern studies. 
@zahrahankir, zahrahankir.com Christiane Amanpour (Foreword By) Christiane Amanpour is CNN’s chief international anchor and host of the network’s award-winning, flagship global affairs programme Amanpour, which also airs on PBS in the United States. She is based in the network’s London bureau. Christiane’s illustrious career in journalism spans more than three decades. After joining CNN in 1983, Amanpour rose through the organisation, becoming the network’s leading international correspondent reporting on international crises in the Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Palestinian territories, Iran, Sudan, Israel, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda, the Balkans, Egypt and Libya. Amanpour has interviewed most of the top world leaders over the past two decades and has received every major broadcast award, including an inaugural Television Academy Award, eleven News and Documentary Emmys, four Peabody Awards and nine honorary degrees. In 2014, she was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame and in 2018 was inducted into the Broadcasting &amp; Cable Hall of Fame. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an honorary citizen of Sarajevo and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. Amanpour is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island.

Zahra Hankir

A Cultural History

A dazzling exploration of the intersections of beauty and power around the globe, told through the lens of an iconic cosmetic 
 
'Awe-inspiring and fascinating' Funmi Fetto 
'A treat to read' Kassia St Clair 
 
From the distant past to the present day, humans have been drawn to lining their eyes. The aesthetic trademark of figures ranging from Nefertiti to Amy Winehouse, eyeliner is one of our most enduring cosmetic tools; ancient royals and Gen Z beauty influencers alike would attest to its uniquely transformative power. It is undeniably fun - yet it is also far from frivolous. 
 
Seen through Zahra Hankir's (kohl-lined) eyes, this ubiquitous but seldom-examined product becomes a portal to history, proof both of the stunning variety among cultures across time and space and of our shared humanity. Through intimate reporting and conversations - with nomads in Chad, geishas in Japan, dancers in India, drag queens in New York, and more - Eyeliner embraces the rich history and significance of its namesake, especially among communities of colour. What emerges is a delightful, surprising, and unexpectedly moving journey through streets, stages, and bedrooms around the world, and a thought-provoking reclamation of a key piece of our collective history.

Zahra Hankir

Eyeliner

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