Women’s work in Kurdish journalism includes reporting, editing, visual production and professional organising. Documented careers and training programmes show how that work is done, the risks journalists face and the importance of careful reporting about women’s lives.
Zehra Doğan: reporting, editing and recognition
Zehra Doğan was a founder of JINHA, a women’s news agency where she worked as both editor and reporter. The International Women’s Media Foundation’s award biography describes her reporting from Nusaybin and northern Iraq, including interviews with Yazidi women who had been freed from ISIS captivity. That work received the Metin Göktepe journalism award; the photograph records the 2015 ceremony. IWMF subsequently recognised her with a 2018 Courage in Journalism Award. [1] Her career brings several kinds of work into view: gathering testimony, deciding what reaches publication and representing events through visual art. JINHA was closed by government decree in 2016. The dated award biography is evidence about this period, rather than a source for her present circumstances.
Dicle Müftüoğlu: editorial work and a documented acquittal
PEN Norway observed the hearing at which Dicle Müftüoğlu was acquitted on 24 October 2024 in Diyarbakır. Its report identifies her as a Mezopotamya Agency editor and co-chair of the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association. She had been released from pre-trial detention on 29 February that year. In court, she challenged the treatment of editorial advice to reporters as evidence of organisational instructions; her lawyer also challenged witness evidence and the repetition of charges. [2] The report documents both her professional responsibilities and the outcome of this particular case. Keeping the acquittal date alongside the detention history prevents an old arrest report from being mistaken for her continuing imprisonment.
Reporters and video editors share the risks of fieldwork
UNESCO’s statement of 29 August 2024 identifies Gülistan Tara as a reporter and Hero Bahadin as a video editor working for Chatr Multimedia Production Company. Both were killed on a reporting mission in Said Sadiq, Sulaymaniyah province, on 23 August. The statement said a drone had reportedly struck their vehicle and called for an investigation. [3] Its wording does not establish a judicial finding about the perpetrator. Naming their different roles also matters: television journalism depends on production and editing as well as the person who appears on screen. An account of women’s contribution needs to recognise that wider professional work while documenting attacks accurately.
Preparing journalists to teach: Sulaimani, August 2026
The University of Sulaimani reported on 20 August 2026 that 30 women journalists had completed the second phase of a journalism-ethics training-of-trainers programme. It described a partnership with the Women’s Union of Kurdistan and Elite Academy, with the university and academy contributing curriculum and training and the union supporting implementation. [4] The programme’s teaching focus is significant: participants were preparing to pass professional knowledge to others. The university described eight planned phases; its report does not establish that all eight were completed. A certificate ceremony records participation and a completed stage, while later teaching activity and newsroom practice would require further evidence.
Storytelling and reporting gender-based violence: September 2026
SEED’s report of 27 October 2026 describes a five-day online course held the previous month with CNN Academy and Erbil Media City. Fifteen women journalists from cities across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region took part; their places of work do not establish that every participant identified as Kurdish. Sessions covered mobile journalism, sound, sequencing, investigations and scriptwriting. Participants developed their own stories with individual coaching. A dedicated half-day addressed reporting on women and survivors of gender-based violence, including informed consent, risk assessment, avoiding further harm during interviews and explaining the wider social and legal context. [5] This gives a concrete account of the skills taught and the reporting tasks undertaken.
What participation and professional progress can show
The two 2026 programmes describe specific opportunities for women to develop reporting and teaching skills. [4][5] Their organisers’ accounts are useful records of activities; they do not independently measure changes in employment, editorial authority or exposure to harassment. Assessing longer-term progress would involve examining published work, access to assignments and leadership, and whether newsrooms support staff facing threats. The cases above also show why individual careers should be described through identifiable work and dated records. Recognition, legal protection, production skills and editorial responsibility are different parts of a working journalist’s life, each deserving attention beyond a general claim that the future is improving.
Sources and further reading
- International Women’s Media Foundation, Zehra Doğan: 2018 Courage in Journalism award biography; reporting and editorial work at JINHA.
- PEN Norway, Journalist Dicle Müftüoğlu acquitted, 25 October 2024: eyewitness report of the 24 October hearing.
- UNESCO, Director-General condemns killing of journalists Gülistan Tara and Hero Bahadin in Iraq, 29 August 2024.
- University of Sulaimani, 20 August 2026: second phase of journalism-ethics training for 30 women journalists; eight-phase programme plan.
- SEED, Empowering Women in Media Across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, 27 October 2026: September storytelling course and ethical reporting curriculum.