|
The Current State of Iraqi Women
A Conversation with Ahood Al-Fadhal, one of the first elected officials in Iraq and an advocate for women's rights, and Lauren Sandler, a journalist and writer who covered the Iraq War in 2003.
Sponsored by the Barnard College Civic Engagement Program and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
Monday, October 4, 2004
6:30pm - Discussion and Q. and A. with the audience
304 Barnard Hall (West 117 th Street and Broadway, New York City)
Ahood Al-Fadhal
As one of the first elected officials in Iraq and an advocate for women's rights, Ms. Ahood al-Fadhal has made the most of her new freedom after the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime. Ahood was elected as the first female member of the Al-Tahsinniyya council, which is a new district government council within the city of Basra. In addition to her civic responsibilities, she writes a bi-weekly newsletter on public affairs, the Iraqi Women's Echo, and is active in several organizations dedicated to advancing women's interests. She co-founded the Al Ata society, which helps to educate women in rural areas, and she is communications director of Al-Hawra'a Zainab, a women's society. Ahood received a B.A. in mass communications from the Baghdad University and a post-graduate diploma in journalism from the University of Baghdad. For most of her adult life, Ahood was denied the opportunity to work despite her college degrees. Her family suffered much under Saddam's rule. Two of her brothers were killed by his regime. Ahood, her husband, and their two children spent time in jail after it was discovered that her husband's mother was of Iranian descent. Today, Ahood says that she has accomplished more in the first year following Iraq's liberation than she did during the previous 20 years under Saddam's rule. Ahood resides in Basra with her husband and three children.
Lauren Sandler
Lauren Sandler is a free-lance writer of op-eds, essays, features, and investigative journalism about topics such as race, class, pop culture, media, and international issues. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications including The Atlantic Monthly , The New York Times , The Los Angeles Times , The Nation , The New Republic , Elle , and Marie Claire . She is also a former producer at National Public Radio. In 2003, Lauren reported from Iraq on behalf of the Carr Foundation. She currently teaches at NYU's Journalism School in the Cultural Reporting and Criticism graduate program. She is a 1996 graduate of Barnard College.
This event is a pre-cursor to another event featuring Ms. Sandler sponsored by the Barnard Center for Research on Women "You Call This Liberation? The Truth About Women in Iraq" on Thursday, November 11, 2004. More information can be found at www.barnard.edu/bcrw .
|
