Sahar Hussein al-Haideri
Sahar Hussein al-Haideri | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 15, 1962 Mosul, Iraq |
| Cause of death | Murder by shooting |
| Nationality | Iraqi |
| Education | University of Baghdad (1980–1997) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Spouse | Haithem al-Naqib (m. 1997) |
Sahar Hussein al-Haideri (
Arabic: سحر حسين الحيدري, July 15, 1962 – June 7, 2007) was an Iraqi female print and radio journalist.[1]
She was murdered by extremists on June 7, 2007, becoming at the time the 108th journalist, including the 86th Iraqi journalist, to be killed covering the Iraq War since its outbreak in 2003.[1]
Early life
Al-Haideri was born in
Baghdad University.[1]
Al-Haideri married Haithem al-Naqib, a
Sunni teacher from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.[1] Together the couple had four daughters.[1] The family moved to Mosul in 1997.[1]
Career
Al-Haideri's career in
Reuters Foundation and others. Al-Haideri was one of the few Iraqis to enroll in the IWPR journalism reporting and training program.[1]
The programs offered aspiring Iraqi journalists a new career direction.
Al-Haideri began work as a radio and
Islamic extremists who sought to use the war as an excuse to turn her adopted city of Mosul into a fundamentalist "emirate"[1]
in northern Iraq.
Her stories increasingly focused on the fundamentalists and the violence that their insurgency had brought to northern Iraq (excluding
Islamic fundamentalist decrees that cucumbers and tomatoes must be served on separate plates because they are supposedly of different genders and that female store mannequins must have their heads covered.[1]
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.infidels.[1]
Al-Haideri moved her family to
UK Press Gazette that she never thought about quitting,[1] even under the constant threats. She 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.[1]
Al-Haideri was killed in
Ansar al-Sunna.[1] She was 45 years old. Her news editors had spent three hours the day before her killing asking her to return to Damascus.[1] Her murder was met with condemnation from the international community.[2][3]
The IWPR established a journalist assistance fund in memory of al-Haideri and the work she accomplished during her career as a journalist.[1]
In 2008 Al-Haideri was awarded posthumously the
Arabic: القتل غسلا للعار يثير مخاوف تفجر صراع عراقي جديد, "Honour Killing Sparks Fears of New Iraqi Conflict" was specifically cited by the judges.[5][6]
Al-Haideri was survived by her husband and her four daughters, who were aged 11 to 17 at the time of her murder.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Borden, Anthony (2007-06-30). "Obituary: Sahar Hussein al-Haideri". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
- ^ المدير العام يدين جريمة قتل الصحافية العراقية سحر حسين علي الحيدري [Director-General condemns murder of Iraqi journalist Sahar Hussein Ali al-Haidari]. Press Release No. 2007-63 (Press release) (in Arabic). UNESCO. June 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
- ^ "News Director-General condemns murder of Iraqi journalist Sahar Hussein Ali al-Haydari". UNESCO. Jun 19, 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
- ^ "Amnesty announces Media Awards 2008 winners". Amnesty International UK (AIUK). Jun 17, 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-12-04. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
- ^
al-Haideri, Sahar al-Haideri AKA Arabic: سحر حسين الحيدري (Jun 5, 2007). "Honour Killing Sparks Fears of New Iraqi Conflict". From iwpr.net. Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Archived from the originalon 2013-01-10. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
- ^
Arabic: سحر حسين الحيدري AKA Sahar al-Haider (Oct 1, 2007). "القتل غسلا للعار يثير مخاوف تفجر صراع عراقي جديد". menassat.com. Archived from the originalon 2011-06-20. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
"Honour Killing Sparks Fears of New Iraqi Conflict" available in the original Arabic with english translation as an option.
(in Arabic)
External links
- The Guardian: Sahar Hussein al-Haideri
- Sahar's articles for IWPR
- IWPR: Iraqi Reporter Latest Victim of Violence Against Women Journalists
- Requiem for a Brave Woman
- 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