Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World

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

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.

‘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

Zahra Hankir

Cosmetic, tool of rebellion, status signifier: Eyeliner has been all these and more. Moving through millenniums and across civilizations, Hankir gives the makeup its eye-opening due

A beautifully written deep dive into something that so many of us use on a daily basis with little to no thought. You will never use an eyeliner in the same way again

Hankir makes a compelling case that, far from an inconsequential vanity, eyeliner is not just about beautification but protection, and even politics, for men and women across the world and through the ages

Fascinating . . . In my line of business (being Miss Universe), eyeliner is more than an item in a makeup kit—it’s part of an artistic palette. This simple tool gives us the power to command a room, to make a personality statement, and to change our entire look on a whim. As Zahra Hankir shows, none of this is new or even modern, but has been part of a legacy of powerful women for millennia

A beautiful read, a thought-provoking one, and, unlike many history books - endlessly entertaining

An interesting perspective on a seldom-explored area of cultural history… thought-provoking

Engrossing… Hankir’s history lessons are peppered with cultural references and good humor. The book is a smoky-eye lover’s paradise

Who knew the humble eyeliner could offer up so much? Hankir’s beautiful writing style and incredible attention to detail mean that even those with zero interest in makeup will find this book awe-inspiring and fascinating as it goes far beyond the realms of beauty.

Funmi Fetto, author of PALETTE, Contributing Beauty Editor at British Vogue and Beauty Director at the Observer

Hankir delves into the political contexts that inform our make-up choices... Eyeliner is a comprehensive account of how this age-old medium became a means for connection, communication and rebellion

I loved Eyeliner. Hankir approaches her subject with dedicated curiosity, humility and humour, blending anthropology, travel, memoir and history. A treat to read and - of course - beautifully eye-opening.

Kassia St Clair, author of THE SECRET LIVES OF COLOUR

Captivating... An arresting feminist narrative from start to finish, this book reveals the depth and multi-dimensionality of a cosmetic that connects Queen Nefertiti to young women protesting in contemporary Iran.

Rafia Zakaria, author of AGAINST WHITE FEMINISM

Combining the steady contemplation of the personal essay with her journalistic flair for storytelling, Zahra Hankir traces the history of kohl, traversing space, time and cultures to delve into the deeply human importance of a makeup kit staple many of us don't give a second thought. An engaging read that is poignant, enlightening, and full of emotional depth.

Layla AlAmmar, author of SILENCE IS A SENSE

Intriguing . . . [Hankir] uses this ancient form of makeup as an ingenious prism through which to explore cultural identity.

A fascinating history . . . If you've never given much thought to the beauty staple, Eyeliner will change that forever.

Absorbing . . . Hankir provides an engaging, colorful study while relating her own cross-cultural story.

Captivating . . . Hankir packs her reader-friendly narrative with relatable examples of cultural and geographic significance.

Hankir disrupts many deeply held assumptions about beauty, gender, and power . . . Hankir writes with boldness and care . . . [she] meticulously details commonalities in physical and aesthetic practices [...] without losing sight of cultural specificity or intersectionality.

An impressive, rigorously researched, winding path through centuries and over continents

[Eyeliner] artfully blend[s] a history of the eye cosmetic with an emotive treatment of makeup’s relation to the self . . . a thoughtful, unlikely romp across the world, viewing a small but significant part of cultural history, through a keen (and boldly defined) eye

A marvel . . . [Hankir] goes back in time, around the globe and into her own past, painting a picture that not only resituates eyeliner in the cultural imaginary but celebrates the myriad contributions of communities of color to beauty history

Hankir does a spectacular job of raising the stakes and setting up eyeliner as this culturally powerful and iconic practice, all tied back on Nefertiti…a book that succeeds in telling, if not one story, then many stories, about a utilitarian, symbolic, and essential practice that transcends cultures around the world

A narrative that, fittingly, bypasses dominant Western discourses of makeup and fashion, which is part of what makes this work so refreshing to read . . . This book demonstrates that eyeliner is not simply a frivolous decoration; it connects back to a much larger story

Readers will never think of eyeliner the same way after reading this book . . . [Eyeliner] has a richer and sometimes stranger history than many people (including me) would have guessed . . . endlessly fascinating

An intriguing journey through time and across continents . . . [Hankir] travels far in pursuit of her research, expressing a contagious wonder at the layers of common ground a simple object like eyeliner offers people of diverse backgrounds . . . Eyeliner features a particularly dazzling chapter on the late Amy Winehouse . . . [A] well-written, absorbing debut

A Cultural History

'Fascinating' Nigella Lawson 
'Awe-inspiring' Funmi Fetto 
'A treat to read' Kassia St Clair 
 
A Sunday Times Style Barometer and New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice Pick 
 
For centuries, humans have been drawn to lining our eyes. The aesthetic trademark of icons from Nefertiti to Amy Winehouse, eyeliner is one of our most enduring cosmetic tools: ancient royals and Gen Z influencers alike have harnessed its power. 
 
Through Zahra Hankir&rsquo;s kohl-lined eyes, this ubiquitous product becomes proof of the stunning variety among cultures across time and space. Exploring intimate conversations &ndash; with Chadian nomads, Japanese geisha, Indian dancers, New York&rsquo;s drag queens and more &ndash; Eyeliner embraces the profound significance of its namesake, especially among communities of colour. 
 
What emerges is a delightful and unexpectedly moving journey through streets and stages around the world, and a stirring reclamation of a key piece of our collective history. 
 
Featuring stunning portrait illustrations by Mercedes deBellard

Zahra Hankir

Praise for Eyeliner

Cosmetic, tool of rebellion, status signifier: Eyeliner has been all these and more. Moving through millenniums and across civilizations, Hankir gives the makeup its eye-opening due

A beautifully written deep dive into something that so many of us use on a daily basis with little to no thought. You will never use an eyeliner in the same way again

Hankir makes a compelling case that, far from an inconsequential vanity, eyeliner is not just about beautification but protection, and even politics, for men and women across the world and through the ages

Cosmetic, tool of rebellion, status signifier: Eyeliner has been all these and more. Moving through millenniums and across civilizations, Hankir gives the makeup its eye-opening due

A beautifully written deep dive into something that so many of us use on a daily basis with little to no thought. You will never use an eyeliner in the same way again

Hankir makes a compelling case that, far from an inconsequential vanity, eyeliner is not just about beautification but protection, and even politics, for men and women across the world and through the ages

Cosmetic, tool of rebellion, status signifier: Eyeliner has been all these and more. Moving through millenniums and across civilizations, Hankir gives the makeup its eye-opening due

A beautifully written deep dive into something that so many of us use on a daily basis with little to no thought. You will never use an eyeliner in the same way again

Hankir makes a compelling case that, far from an inconsequential vanity, eyeliner is not just about beautification but protection, and even politics, for men and women across the world and through the ages

Books by Zahra Hankir

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter