March is the month of celebrating Women’s Day, an occasion to revisit issues that hinder the achievement of equality and justice between the sexes.
It is also the month of Mother’s Day and the beginning of spring, which this year unfolds amid the ongoing war in Gaza and the loss of more lives, including children and women.
As every year, we organized a full-day event at the French Cultural Center in Amman, featuring the participation of female journalists from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, along with colleagues from Lebanon, Iraq, and Jordan.
In March, we also held a special session on mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder in war zones.
A striking point emerged from a study conducted by Dr. Khaled Nasser, a consultant and specialist in psychological trauma, who moderated the session on mental health for female journalists. The study indicated that discrimination against women has a psychological impact equivalent to the trauma experienced during wars.
Have Female Journalists in Gaza Changed the Stereotypical View of Social Roles, Even in Journalism?
The first discussion session raised several questions regarding the recent war on Gaza and whether it has changed stereotypical perceptions of gender roles in journalism. What about the role of content creators who are not journalists? Can we say that the events have transformed the media landscape, or was traditional media necessary to provide the most comprehensive picture? Is there a shift in roles and integration? Is there something unique about the Gaza conflict? How does this compare to Iraq, for instance, during the liberation of cities from ISIS, including Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq?
The session featured Khawla Al-Khalidi, who covered the Gaza war for Al-Arabiya channel for four months before leaving in pain for Egypt to protect her children. Also present was Sharouf Asaad, the first woman to work as a correspondent in Palestine, and Elie Brakhia, a Lebanese journalist injured in the Israeli bombing on the Lebanese-Israeli border—a bombing that resulted in the death of Reuters photographer Issam Abdullah and the injury of a correspondent and photographer for Agence France-Presse.
There was also a recorded intervention by Rana Al-Ajrami, a correspondent for the Turkish TRT channel, who spoke about the most challenging moment in her life: being on-air and receiving news that the area where her family, including her children, lived had been targeted and that there were casualties.
The session was attended by Rana Suwais from the Wish Fund Company and Zahraa Salim, a young journalist from Iraq.
Have Women Succeeded in Changing the Narrative About Women in the Media?
The second session discussed the rise of independent media platforms and the advancement of women to leadership positions, as seen with several of the session’s participants. However, a key question was whether this progress has translated into a media discourse that is more equal and less discriminatory.
The discussion also touched on the transformation of social media platforms into arenas where those opposed to change issue threats and harsh comments, sometimes even death threats. Despite this, some participants noted a positive shift in public discourse, with more open participation than had been observed before.
Participating in this session were Hala Ahed, a human rights lawyer who faced a fierce social media campaign, including excommunication threats; Alia Awada, founder and director of the Noqta website, which uses media for change; Rana Jayyous, executive director of “Mudraj” for digital media leadership; and Dunya Saleh from Iraq, a professor and trainer in gender issues.
Qarib Award
At the end of the day, we announced the launch of the Qarib Award for this year, which aims to honor journalists working on reports and investigations, including cross-border issues that often go unspoken and underreported. These include conflict-related issues that directly affect women, the aspirations and interests of youth, and environmental topics.
For all the details related to the award, please visit the link provided. We encourage many of you to apply, as we look forward to celebrating your work in Amman.
From the Productions of Our Partners in March
A notable report by the Aramram platform in Jordan examined the gap in earnings between women and men, despite modern laws aimed at addressing this issue.
Our partners in Iraq continued their focus on environmental concerns, including a photo report from the Karmian area on the impact of housing projects on the environment.
As since the beginning of the war in Gaza, developments, especially the humanitarian aspects, have occupied a significant part of the work of our partners in Palestine, such as this report from Gaza on education in tents and displacement sites.