Imprint: Harvill Secker
Published: 08/08/2019
ISBN: 9781787301702
Length: 304 Pages
Dimensions: 196mm x 22mm x 135mm
Weight: 275g
RRP: £14.99
‘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. From sexual harassment on the streets of Cairo to the difficulty of travelling 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.
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
Imprint: Harvill Secker
Published: 08/08/2019
ISBN: 9781787301702
Length: 304 Pages
Dimensions: 196mm x 22mm x 135mm
Weight: 275g
RRP: £14.99
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.
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.
Candid, evocative and above all, daring.
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.