Global Voices - Fighting for Change | Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Cynicism Marks International Women's Day in Afghanistan

Medical Experts Decry Abkhazia's ''Rash'' Abortion Ban

Tajikistan: Dushanbe’s Army of Street Cleaners

Syria: Clusterbombs on a Wedding Day

Armenia: Campaigners Push On for Domestic Violence Law

Highlighting some of our outstanding female writers, past and present: below are just a few examples of their inspiring work.

Zaina Erhaim is a Syrian journalist and IWPR project coordinator. Over the last two years, she has trained about 100 citizen reporters from inside Syria, approximately a third of them women, in print and TV journalism, and has helped establish many of the new emerging independent newspapers and magazines in the war torn country. Last year, Zaina won the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism.

SELECTED STORIES
By ZAINA ERHAIM
IWPR Syria Project Coordinator

Syria's Rebellious Women Films
15 Nov 15
Five films about five women give a rare insight into a side of Syria that is often absent from the news.

Syria: Whose Side Was That Plane On?
29 Sep 14
Civilians in Aleppo grapple with politics of an intervention that some see as arbitrary and misdirected.

Child's Play in Aleppo Graveyard
5 Sep 14
Awareness of death runs through games in a playground on the edge of a cemetery.

“What I’ve been trying to do, myself, in the last four years is to speak more about life, because what we're only getting [from media reporting] is just ISIS, regime bombing, and now lots of air forces interfering in our sky. What is missing from the news is the actual life.”

Zaina Erhaim

Syrian Journalist and IWPR Project Coordinator

Mina Habib is IWPR Afghanistan’s reporter in Kabul. She graduated from the journalism faculty of Kabul university in late 2006 and joined IWPR in 2010. She has since received several national and international awards for her good work and courage as a female reporter covering issues in a male-dominated country. Despite several threats to her life, Mina is committed to continue her profession as a journalist.

SELECTED STORIES
By MINA HABIB
IWPR Reporter, Afghanistan

Afghan Women Demand Action Over Street Harassment
27 Jan 16
Activists say that the problem has reached epidemic proportions.

Divorce Rights Still Elusive for Afghan Women
15 Sep 15
Rising divorce rates may indicate that women are increasingly aware of their rights, although the law is restrictive and unevenly applied.

In Afghan Schools, Black is the New Black
9 Aug 13
Girls complain the dark uniforms they have to wear are both stiflingly hot and depressing.

Syria's Rebellious Women Films

Gaziza Baituova was born in 1973 in Taraz, southern Kazakstan. A graduate of Kazakstan’s Al-Farabi university, she worked for regional TV and a local newspaper before joining IWPR as a contributor in 2000. She has won several awards for her coverage of human rights, social issues and media freedom.

SELECTED STORIES
By GAZIZA BAITUOVA
IWPR Contributor, Kazakstan

Kazak State Tightens Grip on Internet
15 Feb 16
Experts warn that online access will be imperilled if new laws are put into effect.

First Prosecution for Internet Hate Speech in Kazakstan
4 Feb 15
“Ethnic insult” charge comes at a time when the Russian minority question has come to the fore.

Kazak HIV Scare Reveals Broader Healthcare Problems
6 Oct 06
Whether children were infected by dirty needles or contaminated blood, it is clear they are the victims of lax procedures in an often uncaring health system.