Sahar Hussein al-Haideri
Encyclopedia
Sahar Hussein al-Haideri ' onMouseout='HidePop("4429")' href="/topics/Baghdad">Baghdad
– June 7, 2007 Mosul, Iraq) was an Iraq
i female print and radio journalist
.
She was murdered by extremists on June 7, 2007, becoming the 108th journalist, including 86th Iraqi journalist, to be killed covering the Iraq War since its outbreak in 2003. (as of June 2007)
, Iraq
, on July 15, 1962 to a Shia professional family. She was educated and received her degree in business administration from Baghdad University.
Al-Haideri married Haithem al-Naqib, a Sunni teacher from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul
. Together the couple had four daughters. The family moved to Mosul in 1997.
began after the 2003 invasion of Iraq
and the fall of Sadam Hussein's Baathist regime. A number of international news training programs were set up by media agencies throughout Iraq, including the IWPR
, the Reuters Foundation and others. Al-Haideri was one of the few Iraqis to enroll in the IWPR journalism reporting and training program. The programs offered aspiring Iraqi journalists a new career direction.
Al-Haideri began work as a radio and print journalist. She began writing contributing pieces for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting
, the media organization with whom she had been trained. She also wrote for local Iraqi press, including the Aswat al-Iraq
news agency
, known in English
as the Voices of Iraq
, a Mosul based newspaper
. Her stories focused on the trauma that was beginning to overtake Iraq
. Her stories included features
on the increasing violence against Iraqi women, and what she called the "lost generation" of Iraqi youth due to the war. Her stories were sometimes critical of both local Iraqi government officials and the U.S. Forces, both of whom she saw as adding to the chaotic situation in Iraq. However, she was most critical of Islamic extremists who sought to use the war as an excuse to turn her adopted city of Mosul into a fundamentalist
"emirate
" in northern Iraq.
Her stories increasingly focused on the fundamentalists and the violence that their insurgency had brought to northern Iraq (excluding Iraqi Kurdistan
). She wrote pieces concerning Islamic fundamentalist decrees that cucumbers and tomatoes must be served on separate plates because they are supposedly of different genders and that female store manikins must have their heads covered. She also wrote of the atrocities committed by Iraqi insurgents.
Her critical reporting put her personal safety, as well as her family, in jeopardy. Al-Haideri was once saved from an attempted kidnapping because an American military patrol happened to be in the area and stopped the attack. At one point, an Iraqi extremist group linked to al Qaeda placed Al-Haideri at number four on a hit list of so-called infidels
.
Al-Haideri moved her family to Damascus, Syria, in 2006 for their own safety. However, she continued to return to Iraq to file her reports. Al-Haideri, who was very committed to her chosen career, said in a 2007 interview with the UK Press Gazette that she never thought about quitting, even under the constant threats. She recently took credit on a Kurdish website for a number of news articles critical of the extremists which had been written and published under an assumed pseudonym
. The editors of both the Voices of Iraq and the IWPR repeatedly implored al=Haideri to remain in Syria
and stay out of Iraq for her own personal safety.
Al-Haideri was killed in Mosul
on June 7, 2007 by an extremist group called the Ansar al-Sunna. She was 45 years old. Her news editors had spent three hours the day before her killing asking her to return to Damascus. The IWPR established a journalist assistance fund in memory of Sahar Hussein al-Haideri and the work she accomplished during her career as a journalist.
Al-Haideri was survived by her husband and her four daughters, who were aged 11 to 17 at the time of her murder.
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
– June 7, 2007 Mosul, Iraq) was an Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i female print and radio journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
She was murdered by extremists on June 7, 2007, becoming the 108th journalist, including 86th Iraqi journalist, to be killed covering the Iraq War since its outbreak in 2003. (as of June 2007)
Early life
Al-Haideri was born in BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, on July 15, 1962 to a Shia professional family. She was educated and received her degree in business administration from Baghdad University.
Al-Haideri married Haithem al-Naqib, a Sunni teacher from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
. Together the couple had four daughters. The family moved to Mosul in 1997.
Career
Sahar Hussein al-Haideri's career in journalismJournalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
began after the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
and the fall of Sadam Hussein's Baathist regime. A number of international news training programs were set up by media agencies throughout Iraq, including the IWPR
IWPR
IWPR may refer to:* Institute for War and Peace Reporting* Institute for Women's Policy Research...
, the Reuters Foundation and others. Al-Haideri was one of the few Iraqis to enroll in the IWPR journalism reporting and training program. The programs offered aspiring Iraqi journalists a new career direction.
Al-Haideri began work as a radio and print journalist. She began writing contributing pieces for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Institute for War & Peace Reporting is an international media development charity, established in 1991. It runs major programmes in Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, the Balkans, Congo DRC, Tunisia and Uganda...
, the media organization with whom she had been trained. She also wrote for local Iraqi press, including the Aswat al-Iraq
Aswat al-Iraq
Aswat al-Iraq is an independent national news agency in Iraq, established in 2004. Funded by the United Nations Development Program , and with training assistance from the Reuters Foundation , it produces over 60 stories a day in Arabic, some 20 to 25 in English and 15 to 20 in the Sorani dialect...
news agency
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
, known in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as the Voices of Iraq
Voices of Iraq
Voices of Iraq is a 2004 documentary film about Iraq, created by distributing cameras to the subjects of a film, thus enabling subjects to film themselves...
, a Mosul based newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. Her stories focused on the trauma that was beginning to overtake Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Her stories included features
Feature story
- Published Features & news :While the distinction between published features and news is often clear, when approached conceptually there are few hard boundaries between the two. It is quite possible to write a feature in the style of a news story, for instance...
on the increasing violence against Iraqi women, and what she called the "lost generation" of Iraqi youth due to the war. Her stories were sometimes critical of both local Iraqi government officials and the U.S. Forces, both of whom she saw as adding to the chaotic situation in Iraq. However, she was most critical of Islamic extremists who sought to use the war as an excuse to turn her adopted city of Mosul into a fundamentalist
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
"emirate
Emirate
An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Muslim monarch styled emir.-Etymology:Etymologically emirate or amirate is the quality, dignity, office or territorial competence of any emir ....
" in northern Iraq.
Her stories increasingly focused on the fundamentalists and the violence that their insurgency had brought to northern Iraq (excluding Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
). She wrote pieces concerning Islamic fundamentalist decrees that cucumbers and tomatoes must be served on separate plates because they are supposedly of different genders and that female store manikins must have their heads covered. She also wrote of the atrocities committed by Iraqi insurgents.
Her critical reporting put her personal safety, as well as her family, in jeopardy. Al-Haideri was once saved from an attempted kidnapping because an American military patrol happened to be in the area and stopped the attack. At one point, an Iraqi extremist group linked to al Qaeda placed Al-Haideri at number four on a hit list of so-called infidels
Infidels
Infidels is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 22nd studio album, released by Columbia Records in October 1983.Produced by Mark Knopfler and Dylan himself, Infidels is seen as his return to secular music, following a conversion to Christianity and three evangelical, gospel records...
.
Al-Haideri moved her family to Damascus, Syria, in 2006 for their own safety. However, she continued to return to Iraq to file her reports. Al-Haideri, who was very committed to her chosen career, said in a 2007 interview with the UK Press Gazette that she never thought about quitting, even under the constant threats. She recently took credit on a Kurdish website for a number of news articles critical of the extremists which had been written and published under an assumed pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
. The editors of both the Voices of Iraq and the IWPR repeatedly implored al=Haideri to remain in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and stay out of Iraq for her own personal safety.
Al-Haideri was killed in Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
on June 7, 2007 by an extremist group called the Ansar al-Sunna. She was 45 years old. Her news editors had spent three hours the day before her killing asking her to return to Damascus. The IWPR established a journalist assistance fund in memory of Sahar Hussein al-Haideri and the work she accomplished during her career as a journalist.
Al-Haideri was survived by her husband and her four daughters, who were aged 11 to 17 at the time of her murder.
External links
- The Guardian: Sahar Hussein al-Haideri
- IWPR: Iraqi Reporter Latest Victim of Violence Against Women Journalists
- The Guardian: Iraq's forgotten heroes: The death of Iraqi journalist Sahar Hussein al Haideri last month illustrates the hazardous conditions the local press have to operate in
- Kuwait Times: Iraq's journalists, the forgotten heroes