“Arab women are better journalists"
2009 was all about women beating their male counterparts in investigative journalism in the Arab world. They won six of seven general awards at this year’s closing ceremony of the journalist network ‘Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism “(ARIJ) in the Jordanian capital Amman.
“Women are better at their job,” said director Rana Sabbagh-Cargour of ARIJ. “They work harder, dig deeper and show more commitment. Yet you hardly find women in top positions in the Arab media. “
This new generation doesn’t abstain from controversial topics. In print, the award went to the Jordanian Majdolin Allan for her contribution on divorced women suffering from the Jordanian alimony law. Riham El-Shaykh from Egypt received an award for her documentary on sexual harassment of women in streets and public places.
The highlight of the ceremony was the report of the Egyptian journalist Mona Iraqi. In the TV documentary “Recycling of medical waste: a lucrative business” she showed how careless Egyptian hospitals deal with hazardous waste. Organised groups of waste collectors recycle used syringes and either re-sell them as new needles and syringes or revamp the cylinders as filters for water pipes. According to Iraq, diseases like hepatitis A and C are being spread easier.
Journalist Majdolin Allan from Jordan – Winner in print
A remarkable fact: the numerous presence of investigative reporters from Syria, Palestine, Iraq and Yemen, where press freedom is quite low – according to the annual Index of Press Freedom of Reporters Without Borders (RWF). No Arab country made it into the top 50.
Climate change
Besides the general distinctions for print, TV and radio there was a special award for environmental reporting. The Egyptian Dareen Farghali and her male colleague Hisham Allam, were honored for their reporting on the illegal discharge of industrial wastewater into the Nile. According to their investigation, 200,000 people have died so far of kidney failure caused by water mismanagement and the subsequent consumption of poisoned fish.
“The article caused a political storm in Egypt,” explains Sabbagh-Cargour (Arij). “The parliament summoned the health minister. Teams of scientists will now look at water samples from the sites, which the journalists frequented during their investigation. “
The American professor Charles Lewis (Centre for Public Integrity) dubbed the conference “surreal”.
