Our Women on the Ground

Finished September 8

Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World edited by Zahra Hankir, foreword by Christine Amanpour

This collection of essays covers experiences in a number of countries over many years. The essays are grouped into five categories by type: Remembrances, Crossfire, Resilience, Exile, Transition. The journalists telling their experiences here range from single women to married mothers, and their educational backgrounds vary as well, with some with journalism degrees and others who fell into the field through opportunity. 

All of the women here care deeply about their home country and the country they reported on, often with the two overlapping. These are women who understand the culture and the people, who learned how to deal with the bureaucracy and the gender limitations, and who persevered in telling the stories that they could tell, trying always to push harder to tell the stories that others didn't want told. 

This is an inspiring collection, one that had me stopping and reflecting on each experience. For me, this was an eye into another culture that helped me understand the world better.