Despite the huge dangers, she said, “There are still people surviving here. I am even invited to four weddings. Life goes on, in an awkward way.”
Describing her work to empower women, including running writing workshops and supporting training programmes, Z.E. said, “As a woman it’s easier for me to work with women under ISIS, even if I have to wear black and cover up.… Working with women is still valid whatever the situation.”
Looking into the future, she spoke of the need to document the contribution made by women.
“The history of this war is going to be written by men, and these women are going to be forgotten if we don’t write about them,” she said.
Guests at the briefing event welcomed the opportunity to get unique insights from actors on the ground.
“It was very good to have first-hand witnesses from Baghdad and Aleppo,” veteran Middle East correspondent Patrick Cockburn said afterwards. “Aleppo, in particular, is a city on which it not easy to get up-to-the-minute eyewitness accounts of the situation such as we received.”
Daniella Peled is IWPR Editor in London.
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