WEBDOC

Hero, Amena, Raja, Zaynab: Four women, four languages, four communities, four professions. Four wonderful courageous stories in four different cities in one country: war-torn Iraq. At the heart of the web documentary Women out of Darkness – the trailer for which you can watch at the end of this feature – are the stories of these four women told by journalist Sara Manisera and photojournalist Arianna Pagani. They perfectly intertwine these women’s voices and lives in Iraq at different times and stages, from memories of Armenians’ genocide, when the displaced found refuge in Iraq, to the recent occupation of the Islamic State group, where millions of Iraqis once again became refugees and displaced in their own country. “We chose stories where women are first of all the protagonists of their fate and not just mere victims,” Sara Manisera told The New Arab. “We want to give a voice to different communities, even if they are not featured in the documentary, from Sunnis to Shias, to Christians and Kurds. We want to send the message that not only one community is suffering,” Sara adds, noting the suffering of the Yazidi community, as well as the Mazdean, Turkmen and Shabak communities.