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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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English

OUR WOMEN ON THE GROUND

Zahra Hankir

Essays by the Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World

In OUR WOMEN ON THE GROUND, 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.
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 a more nuanced narrative about their homelands through their work as reporters and photojournalists. Yet 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 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 or gain entry to places that an outsider would never be able to access. Their daring, shocking, and heartfelt stories shatter stereotypes about Arab women and provide an urgently needed perspective on a part of the world that remains inscrutable to outsiders.


Zahra Hankir is a Lebanese-British journalist who writes about the intersection of politics, culture, and society in the Middle East. Her work has appeared in Vice, BBC News, Al Jazeera English, Businessweek, Roads & Kingdoms, and Literary Hub, among others. 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.

Christiane Amanpour (foreword) is CNN's chief international anchor and host of the network's award-winning, flagship global affairs program 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 organization, becoming the network's leading international correspondent reporting on international crises in the Gulf War, 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 & 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.
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Book

Published 2019-08-06 by Penguin Books

Book

Published 2019-08-06 by Penguin Books

Comments

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.

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. Read more...

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

How Arab women are changing the face of journalism in the Middle East. Read more...

This astounding, affecting collection offers a sweeping panorama of the contemporary Arab experience - eartland and exile; repression and liberation; violence and love. I struggle to think of any work of reportage that has so fully depicted the many-layered recent history of this vibrant and traumatized region. 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.

Excerpt: Hannah Allam: Lessons From a Decade Reporting on Women During the Iraq War - on Survival, Heartbreak and Finding Laughter in a War Zone Read more...

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.

Arab Women Are Tired of Talking About Just Women's Issues: More and more female writers, journalists, and artists are offering an alternative to the typically male, often autocratic voice that dominates the Middle East. Read more...

...a stirring, provocative, and well-made new anthology... Read more...

Our Women on the Ground is a remarkable book that fills a tremendous gap, as mainstream media coverage of the Middle East and Arab world has long been dominated by men or outsiders. 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.

Excerpt: Zaina Erhaim - Reporting on the War in Syria as an Unveiled Woman... Read more...

In this stirring, provocative and well-made new anthology, put together by the Lebanese-British journalist Zahra Hankir, 19 Arab and Middle Eastern sahafiyat female journalists detail their experiences reporting from some of the most repressive countries in the world. "The result is a volume that rewrites the hoary rules of the foreign correspondent playbook, deactivating the old clichés," our critic Dwight Garner writes. "Each of these women has a story to tell. Each has seen plenty." Read more...

UK & C: Harvill Secker / Vintage UK

A 'who's who' of excellent women writers who have done some of the best journalism in the Arab world.

...These are daring, personal, and heartfelt tales of troubling times well told. They shatter stereotypes and offer a necessary view on a part of the world too frequently misunderstood, while revealing the sexism and harassment that women journalists encounter while doing their difficult work. They help us understand why women continue to do this dangerous work, perhaps best expressed by photographer Amira Al-Sharif. "Whenever I think of giving up, I remember I cannot because many girls are relying on me to show the world what fighting spirits they are."... Read more...

OUR WOMEN ON THE GROUND takes readers to places few dare to go... [a] ground-breaking anthology that should fascinate any fan of the stories behind the stories that come out of war zones. Read more...

At times difficult to read, this essential essay collection will bring a more nuanced view of the Middle East from voices you probably haven't heard, and the depths of experiences will force you to find the courage to understand and not look away. Read more...

Excerpt: Nour Malas: Bint el-Balad: A journalist reflects on the difficulty of maintaining professional boundaries while covering the Syrian refugee crisis Read more...

Zahra Hankir, editor of the new book "Our Women on the Ground," talks resilience in the homeland with NPR's Jane Arraf. Read more...

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

A timely, engaging work that reveals why the journalist's profession is so important and so endangered. Read more...

It's hard to say what's most important in the world today, especially in terms of knowledge. Proving to anti-vaxxers that vaccines do, in fact, save lives, or proving to the US government that global warming is a real and present threat to life. But something that needs to be done now in order to promote and spread human kindness and decency is to diminish and destroy misinformation when it comes to racial and religious groups, and instead demonstrate the truth - through facts and stories - about the strength, kindness, courage, and bravery of people who are often mislabelled as something very untrue. To that end, Our Women on the Ground may be the most important book published in 2019. Read more...

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.