12. August 2011
Journalists in the Muslim world shake up expectations on FGM
Editor of the Yemen Times Nadia Al-Sakkaf uses unconventional techniques to bring women's right issues to the forefront in Yemen
Nadia Al-Sakkaf, who visited Vienna in June 2011 for the Women without Borders / SAVE Mothers MOVE! Conference, is an exception in her country. She is the only female head of a newspaper in Yemen, and the Yemen Times is the only independent English-language newspaper in the country. Since she took the lead at the newspaper 6 years ago, Nadia has been working to change mentalities on what is considered newsworthy.
“Sometimes we would put a story on women or children on the front page and leave the more politicized stories about the president or political debates inside,” says Nadia. “At first my decisions were criticized, but when we got positive feedback from readers it proved that pack reporting is not always best.”
Nadia is also not afraid of controversy. Deciding that she had to do more to draw attention to the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Yemen, she took a great risk, going against tradition and culture to shock Yemenis into paying attention.
“FGM happens a lot in Yemen,” says Nadia. “About 30% of women go through it in the rural areas. I ran a story on FGM and got a sketch of vagina from a World Health Organization publication to show the four common types of FGM. It was difficult to make that decision - to decide where the line is between the professional and socially acceptable? Despite having run articles about FGM before, nothing much has happened to prevent it. I ran the pictures because I wanted to shock people into paying attention to this issue. There was a man designing the page. He kept asking, “Do you really want this picture on the page?” I just had to say, “Do it!” While debating if I should run it, I thought, “What is the worst that can happen? What good can come out of it?” I weighed my professional responsibility as an editor and social responsibility as a Yemeni woman. Everyone was shocked by the image. Everyone who couldn’t read was even trying to understand the article. It was shocking and some people called me shameless, said, “You have no respect for yourself.” But I am happy with that decision – I made my point.”
Nadia’s fearless decision may have shocked many, but it sets an example for bringing controversial and often overlooked issues to attention in traditional societies. Awareness-raising of the type that Nadia is attempting to achieve is the first step towards eradicating harmful practices like FGM that leave women with lifelong physical and psychological problems.
Download Nadia's article below.
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FGM_article_Yemen_Times.pdf