Contact Information
The Spectator
Badkhen Covers Women in War-Torn Regions
Former Hamilton exchange student investigates effects of war on Afghani and Iraqi women
by Michael Koester '13News Writer
October 30, 2009
Journalist Anna Badkhen assured her audience on Tuesday that "99.9 percent of people want to wish you well, wherever you go"— this coming from a woman who has spent 10 years reporting directly from the field in places like Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq. "It is okay to trust people when you go into a war zone."
Badkhen, a former exchange student at Hamilton from Russia from 1994-95, pours her journalistic passion into investigating the effects of war on Afghani and Iraqi women. She is quick to discount Islam as the source of misogyny, however. "Religion will always be used as an excuse to mistreat someone, not just Islam," Badkhen said.
Her lecture broke down many common misconceptions of sexism in these Islamic societies. With the start of the War on Terror, many people blamed the Taliban regime for the repression of women. The regime did support such measures, but when that authority disappeared, women still wore their burkas and their husbands continued to control them. Oppression of women is not so much a policy as it is a social institution.
Contrary to popular belief, women in pre-war Iraq were granted rights under the "secular" regime of Saddam Hussein. These included the ability to consent to marriage, work in jobs alongside men and serve in the national security forces. "I even knew a woman who held three masters degrees," Badkhen explained. "The opportunity was there for them."
In 2003, conservative clerical authority filled the newly created power vacuum. As a result, women found themselves with less rights than they had under Saddam Hussein. Attitudes have changed immensely towards females. Between 70 and 90 women are "widowed" by their husbands every day in Iraq. Women raped by marauding fighters are looked down upon in society. In fear of persecution, secret shelters are set up by other women to care for the victims.
Instability threatens hope of future feminist movements. "No matter what, war always takes away our rights," explained Badkhen. "War is isolating women from each other." She hopes that through her work she can raise awareness for the plight of women in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Currently Badkhen contributes to media outlets such as the San Francisco Chronicle and The Boston Globe. Future projects of hers include a book exploring the relationship between food and war under the working title "A War Reporter's Pantry."