Photo By Staff Sgt. Aaron Thacker | Dr. Juliana Dawood Yousif is the editor-in-chief of The Southern Woman newspaper in...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Aaron Thacker
Multi-National Division South East
BASRA, Iraq – Honor killings, high numbers of widows and a need for a women's prison are among the topics covered in a new publication targeted toward women in the Southern Iraqi region.
The Southern Woman newspaper, Al Jenubia, hit the streets of Basra, Nasiriya and Amarra with its first edition last month.
"This is the first newspaper in Basra that tackles women's issues," said Dr. Julia Dawood Yousif. "If we look at these serious issues, if we express this sector of society's opinions, these conditions might change."
Yousif, who holds a doctorate in linguistics, is the editor-in-chief of the new publication and a professor at the University of Basra, as well as the director of the Basra Society for Research and Media on Women.
She said other Basra newspapers might offer a page of women's issues, often taken from the Internet, but that they no longer reflect women's interest and needs.
Yousif attributes many of the sufferings to what she calls "backwards thinking." She said these are the religious extremists.
"In Basra, the effect is Iran," Haynes said. "Since the Islamic revolution, Iran has been exporting non-progressive ideas about women and society, but women are affected the most."
Yousif, who was born in Basra in 1956, said it was much better for women before the Iran-Iraq war in the 1960s and into the 1970s until the revolution took hold. She identifies these revolutionaries as the same influencers of the militias that formed in Basra after the recent coalition invasion of Iraq.
However, this issue is beginning to change shape for the better. A 2007 Iraqi police report, which was created with mentorship of British civilian police, states that 147 women were murdered for various reasons. That is a large contrast with the 2008 report up to Dec. 1 that identified 72 murders, six of which were honor killings.
Yousif said that people are beginning to feel safer as they attend city shops, have picnics, hold celebrations and, for some women, take off their veils.
"We feel optimistic that we can make a change," she said.
| Date Taken: | 12.17.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 12.17.2008 02:48 |
| Story ID: | 27794 |
| Location: | BASRA, IQ |
| Web Views: | 351 |
| Downloads: | 265 |
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