Iraqi-Kurdish Magazine challenges media coverage of women

At first glance it looks like a regular fashion shoot: a female model dressed in fancy clothes. But when you look closer, you realise that the dress is made of newspapers and so is the bag in her hand.

“When media touch on women-related issues here in Iraqi-Kurdistan it is through makeup advertisements, lifestyle articles, food recipes, and stories on raising children. We believe that it shouldn’t be just that,” says Ala Lattif, editor of the Iraqi Kurdistan women’s magazine Zhin.

She commissioned the shoot as a way to highlight the stereotypical portrayal of women in Iraqi-Kurdish media.

“Media should be more focused on women’s rights, how a woman can defend herself, how she can aspire and have hopes in life, and how to deal with issues like violence and inequality so that women, like men, can gain success in life,” says Ala Lattif.

“At Zhin Magazine we want to draw attention to the fact that media has an important role in combating women’s challenges in a male-dominated society by not reproducing traditional gender roles and stereotypes. Media needs a different approach.”

The woman in the pictures is Shaeey Najar, an actress who performs with a dance troup – going beyond social taboos in Kurdistan.

Shaeey Najar is not a journalist, but her work is as challenging as journalism when it comes to the hurdles that the community puts in front of women, the editor thinks. That is why Zhin Magazine chose her for this cover.

Ala Lattif herself is 33 years old and holds a Master’s degree in journalism. Standing as an inspiration not only for other female journalists but women more generally in the region, she challenges the traditional norms around journalism and gender roles.

Ala Lattif and her all-female staff are reporting on women’s issues out of an office based only a few hundred kilometers away from areas controlled by Islamic State (IS) in Iraqi Kurdistan. None the less, she and her team still ensures that the magazine distributes to women all around Iraqi Kurdistan:

“We are selling copies through newspaper stands and staff distribute the magazine to women that they know,” explains the editor.

Each edition totals 2,500 copies and the publishing team takes great care to ensure that the magazine also reaches rural areas.

The magazine featuring the photos of Shaeey Najar was published in September 2016 and the edition is the 18^th since Zhin began publishing.

Zhin is supported by International Media Support (IMS) as part of our work to promote independent, professional journalism in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan and to provide a platform for expression for women in a society where representation in, and production of, media is otherwise dominated almost entirely by men.