Beauty in Eye of Beholder

In this episode of The Other Half, a report from Sulaimaniyah featured Ali Hussein who pointed out that women’s beauty was short-lived, and that their real beauty was their culture and education. But in the same piece, Jwan Lawa begged to differ, saying that looking good was really important to her - with most of her income spent on expensive cosmetics.



Zahra al-Asady reported from a plastic surgery clinic in Baghdad. Hala Abdulkarim, a university student, said she had had an operation on her nose and felt happier with her appearance. But Adil Hamid, civil servant, remarked that such surgery created was a western fad, which Iraqi women didn’t need.



In a vox pop by Nuhad Kareem in the al-Kut area south of Baghdad, Iman Abdulrazaq, a doctor, said he felt well-educated women were always beautiful, while Salih Hamidi insisted that veiled women were the most beautiful.



The show also interviewed a women poet, Huda al-Asady, who said that people were more concerned about security these days than their looks.