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Zaina Erhaim is a
Syrian
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...
journalist,
and feminist. She works as a communications consultant and trainer with international organisations in Syria, Iraq, Morocco, Libya, Lebanon and Egypt. She has reported on the
Syrian civil war from within Syria. Erhaim was the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is an independent nonprofit organization that claims to train and provide publishing opportunities for professional and citizen journalists.
History
IWPR was founded in 1991 under the name Yugofax. ...
(IWPR)'s Communications Manager, she trained hundreds of people whilst in Syria to be
citizen reporters, notably a large proportion of them women.
Zaina has more than a decade experience in the fields of journalism and communication. She recently founded Shams For Equity And Social Justice organisation to promote gender equity and advocates for equal rights for women and LGBTQ+ in MENA region.
Erhaim is the recipient of multiple international awards, named as one of: The world's most influential young Arabs by ''Arabian Business'' and one of the 5 Unsung heroes of 2016 by Reuters Thomson. Zaina won the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism,
Index on Censorship
Index on Censorship is an organization campaigning for freedom of expression, which produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association w ...
's Freedom of Expression Journalism Award, "Female Rebels Against The War" by WILPF Germany and Press Freedom Prize by
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
. She has contributed to ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
,'' ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
,'' ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
,'' ''
Middle East Eye
Middle East Eye (MEE) is a London-based news website covering events in the Middle East and North Africa. MEE describes itself as an "independently funded online news organization that was founded in April 2014." MEE seeks to be the primary porta ...
,''
Orient TV
Orient News (in Arabic تلفزيون أورينت) is a Syrian media group owned by Syrian businessman, journalist and opposition figure Ghassan Aboud, based in Dubai, providing news service to the Middle East with a focus on Syria.
History
Orie ...
, ''
Al-Hayat
Al-Hayat ( ar, الحياة meaning "Life") was a London-based, pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation estimated over 200,000. It was the newspaper of record for the Arab diaspora and the preferred v ...
'' and ''
Syria-News
''Syria-News'' is an online press agency intended to report news about Syria. Their website features several categories of news (domestic, regional, political, and economical) as well as reports and questionnaires that concern Syrian issues. It ena ...
''.
Zaina also published chapters in three books: ''Our Women On The Ground'', ''Arab Women Voicing New Realities'', ''Journalism in Times of War''.
Biography
Erhaim was born in
Idlib
ar, إدلبي, Idlibi
, coordinates =
, elevation_m = 500
, area_code = 23
, geocode = C3871
, blank_name = Climate
, blank_info ...
in northwestern
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
.
She was educated in
Damascus
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, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
.
In 2011, Erhaim pursued a master's degree in International Journalism from City, University of London on a Chevening scholarship; around the same time the
Syrian civil war begun.
Erhaim spent a year
or two
as a broadcast journalist with
BBC Arabic Television
BBC News Arabic ( ar, بي بي سي نيوز عربي), formerly BBC Arabic Television, is a television news channel broadcast to the Arab World by the BBC. It was launched on 11 March 2008. It is run by the BBC World Service and funded from the ...
before returning to
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
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...
in 2013
in order to report on the situation there. Aleppo is the worst-hit city in the civil war, since the
Battle of Aleppo
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
began in 2012 it has been split between the government-held west and the rebel-held east. Reporting from within Syria, Erhaim has contributed to ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
,'' ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
,''
''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
,''
''
Middle East Eye
Middle East Eye (MEE) is a London-based news website covering events in the Middle East and North Africa. MEE describes itself as an "independently funded online news organization that was founded in April 2014." MEE seeks to be the primary porta ...
,''
Orient TV
Orient News (in Arabic تلفزيون أورينت) is a Syrian media group owned by Syrian businessman, journalist and opposition figure Ghassan Aboud, based in Dubai, providing news service to the Middle East with a focus on Syria.
History
Orie ...
,
''
Al-Hayat
Al-Hayat ( ar, الحياة meaning "Life") was a London-based, pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation estimated over 200,000. It was the newspaper of record for the Arab diaspora and the preferred v ...
''
and ''
Syria-News
''Syria-News'' is an online press agency intended to report news about Syria. Their website features several categories of news (domestic, regional, political, and economical) as well as reports and questionnaires that concern Syrian issues. It ena ...
''.
As the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is an independent nonprofit organization that claims to train and provide publishing opportunities for professional and citizen journalists.
History
IWPR was founded in 1991 under the name Yugofax. ...
(IWPR)'s Syria project coordinator then, Erhaim also trained hundreds of
citizen reporters in print and TV journalism whilst in Syria, notably including many women, to report "independently and accurately" on the civil war.
She helped establish many of Syria's emerging independent newspapers and magazines.
She fled Syria at the end 2015
and continues working as IWPR's as a communications manager, and she is now a refugee in the UK.
In 2015 a series of short documentary films directed by Erhaim, ''Syria's Rebellious Women,'' were first screened.
The films were made over a period of 18 months in rebel-held parts of Aleppo. They tell the individual stories of a diverse group of women and the challenges facing them from the Syrian government's air force, the conservative traditions of a male-dominated society, and
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
.
In September 2016, upon arrival for a visit to the UK, Erhaim had her passport confiscated by border officials at the request of the Syrian government, who had declared it stolen.
She was visiting to give a talk with
Kate Adie
Kathryn Adie (born 19 September 1945) is an English journalist. She was Chief News Correspondent for BBC News between 1989 and 2003, during which time she reported from war zones around the world.
She retired from the BBC in early 2003 and w ...
about "how and why reporters take risks to get close to the action, and the vital role women can play in bringing truth to light" at the Write on Kew literary festival.
Awards
* 2011:
Chevening Scholarship
The Chevening Scholarship is an international scholarship, funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, that lets foreign students with leadership qualities study at universities in the United Kingdom.
History
The Chevening Scholarship ...
, Chevening Awards,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...
, London.
* 2015: Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism, Global Media Forum (
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
) and
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.
AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
,
National Press Club
Organizations
A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...
, Washington, DC.
* 2015: The journalist of the year, Press Freedom Prize
by
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
.
*2016: Freedom of Expression Journalism Award,
Index on Censorship
Index on Censorship is an organization campaigning for freedom of expression, which produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association w ...
*2017: The 1st Anita-Augspurg for Woman Rebel Against War, Women International League for Peace and Freedom -Germany.
Films
*''Syria's Rebellious Women'' (2015)
*''Syrian Diaries told by its women'' (2016)
*''I Was Here'' (2017)
References
External links
*
Syria's Rebellious Women - Traileron YouTube
Frontline Insight: Syria's citizen journalistsby Thomson Reuters Foundation on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erhaim, Zaina
Living people
People from Idlib
Syrian political journalists
Year of birth missing (living people)
Chevening Scholars
Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism