Sixteen days. Sixteen stories about Her from my diary. Day 7: Avin More than ten years ago, in 2008, I met Avin and her peers in a high school in Erbil. I walked into the school with a flip-chart stand, flip-chart papers and some markers. We had selected a few school after initial research indicated... Continue Reading →

Sixteen days. Sixteen stories about her from my diary. Day 6: Fatma Fatma is tall, very tall and stunning. Her long black hair is hidden under a conservative hijab. She barely puts makeup on, for her natural beauty needs no makeup. Fair, soft, skin, almond brown eyes, the perfect shaped nose and lots of height,... Continue Reading →

Sixteen days. Sixteen stories about Her from my diary. Day 5: Soz Soz is a close friend of mine. A secret friend I may say. If I am so called smart, Soz is one hundred times smarter, if I have a dash of kindness, Soz has an ocean of kindness. If I have any beauty,... Continue Reading →

Sixteen days. Sixteen stories about Her from my diary. Day 4: Helan Helan is a teacher, and a mother of three. She is a beautiful woman in her early thirties. Helan, has the Kurdish eyebrows, expressive brown eyes, and the most beautiful humble facial features. In fact, she can turn heads with her beauty, presence... Continue Reading →

Sixteen Days. Sixteen stories about Her from my diary. Day 3: Manisht. Manisht's story I hold very close to my heart. She belonged to a family of four sisters and five brothers. Manisht's love for a relative was innocent, and pure. They would meet in family gatherings, as she tells me he was handsome, educated... Continue Reading →

Sixteen days. Sixteen stories about Her from my diary.  Day 2: Zerin Zerin, was a young girl, around the age of nine when I first met her. Today she is in her very late teenage years, and nothing in her story has changed. We all knew Zerin loved being hugged and gave lots of cheek... Continue Reading →

Sixteen days. Sixteen stories about Her from my diary.  Day 1: Layla Once I conducted a research at the rehabilitation centre in Erbil, also known as The Women’s Prison. In three days I interviewed over 12 women. The women in my interview came from different parts of Iraq and were caught on different cases including... Continue Reading →

I grew up in the arms of a father who told us Peshmerga stories at bedtime. Who sat us on his lap, and told us how it was to be escaping the enemy from cave to cave in the mountains during the night; how it was for friends’ limbs to be amputated; what it was... Continue Reading →

Dear Loyal Reader, Rezhna Husen is my favourite social media influencer in Kurdistan. How can I not introduce her on this blog? Rezhna, @rrezhnna Kurdish Social Media Influencer, beekeeper, gardener/farmer and Vlogger on YouTube My favourite Social Media Influencer* introduces herself as a beekeeper and a gardener. With a degree in computer science, this 23... Continue Reading →

When I think of London, my reminiscences of cosy cafes, little corner shops and my hands hugging a warm cup while it rains outside makes me feel like it is a poets New Year's eve... Could it be that I can now take a car drive to Ranya to breathe in a sprinkle of London?... Continue Reading →