{"id":77683,"date":"2025-11-10T13:18:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T13:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1854.photography\/?p=77683"},"modified":"2025-11-10T13:26:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T13:26:26","slug":"iraqi-female-photographers-intelligence-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1854.photography\/2025\/11\/iraqi-female-photographers-intelligence-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Through their eyes: Meet the women in Iraq using photography to create solidarity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a9 Helen al-Wandi<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]\n

Iraqi Female Photographers is a collective addressing systemic sexism, a lack of women\u2019s stories and institutional support in the country<\/h2>\n

In the heart of Baghdad, a group of women is leading a shift in Iraqi photography, filling a gap left by a lack of institutional support in the region. Iraqi Female Photographers (IFP), a grassroots collective of women behind the lens, is rewriting what visual storytelling can look like in Iraq. When they noticed the need for a space such as IFP, \u201cwe launched it immediately,\u201d says Forqan Salam, co-founder of the group and a photographer for Reuters since 2019, \u201cbringing together women photographers working in street, journalistic and documentary photography.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

IFP was founded in early 2024 by Salam and Iraqi photographer Ishtar Obaid, and drew on their experiences of being denied access to spaces, facing harassment, and confronting a photography community often steeped in patriarchy. \u201cThe challenges start with family and societal restrictions,\u201d Salam explains. \u201cThen, on the streets, we face harassment, unwanted attention, and even exploitation simply because we\u2019re women. For example, with the upcoming month of Muharram, there are many places we won\u2019t be able to photograph freely.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This collective frustration and a deep love of the craft brought IFP to life, with the photographers keen to build a positive space encouraging strength in numbers. The group quickly gained traction, organising exhibitions, workshops and meet-ups that connected photographers across Iraq. Their first major showcase, Through Their Eyes: The First Steps<\/em>, held in partnership with the French Institute in Baghdad in spring 2025, featured the work of 25 women, and was led by British photojournalist Emily Garthwaite, who lived and worked in Iraq from 2019 to 2023 (she now lives between the UK and Iraq). \u201cI first learned of Iraqi Female Photographers online and reached out to them with intrigue and delight,\u201d recalls Garthwaite. \u201cI asked if I could be involved in any capacity and was grateful to be brought into the fold.\u201d<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”77746″ img_size=”FULL” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”77745″ img_size=”FULL” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]\n

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\u201cIf we have more working women photographers in Iraq, we don\u2019t just achieve greater gender equality within Iraq\u2019s photography industry, we also gain greater equity in storytelling\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Over two intensive workshop days in Baghdad in November 2024, Garthwaite worked closely with IFP members on everything from image sequencing and pitching, to navigating identity through the camera. \u201cWe had women joining from around Iraq, supported by family members,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen women gather, we uplift one another, and we seek solutions. We soothe one another. Creativity is not reserved for the lucky few; it\u2019s within us all. What we often need is the confidence to pursue it, and this is a driving force within IFP.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Raghad Kisam, a film-maker and storyteller with over eight years of experience, IFP offered \u201ca real boost of confidence\u201d and a community rooted in a shared mission. \u201cI deeply believe in the power of visual storytelling to create change, challenge stereotypes and celebrate resilience,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her work often draws on memory, culture and identity, creating personal narratives that speak to larger truths. One of her most poignant projects, <\/span>Unseen Bonds<\/span><\/i>, explores the impact of decades of war on family relationships in Iraq. \u201cI have only one digital photograph with my late father,\u201d Kisam says. \u201cBecause of the wars, our shared memories were never captured and that absence stayed with me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She reimagines a family album that never was, constructing images from light, objects, and the quiet spaces of memory. \u201cUnseen Bonds<\/em> reflects how conflict doesn\u2019t just destroy infrastructure, it quietly reshapes how we remember, connect and grieve across generations.\u201d<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”77747″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”77748″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]This kind of intimate, emotionally layered storytelling is emblematic of IFP\u2019s ethos. For Salam, her first documentary project <\/span>Shadow<\/span><\/i> \u2013 developed during a visual journalism workshop with VII Academy \u2013 marked a milestone in her practice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt explores what is expected from women versus what they truly want to pursue,\u201d she explains. \u201cI love this project deeply, it was my very first documentary work.\u201d While the creative energy is palpable, the challenges remain stark. \u201cOne of the main challenges is the lack of genuine support and trust among individuals,\u201d Kisam points out. \u201cWe need to build real connections based on encouragement rather than competition or undermining each other\u2019s work.\u201d She also stresses the \u201cmajor need for financial support, especially for long-term projects\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Garthwaite explains that greater opportunities for women create a ripple effect for Iraqi storytelling on the international stage. \u201cMale photographers are unable to enter many parts of homes in Iraq, but women photographers are permitted to do so,\u201d she notes. \u201cIf we have more working women photographers in Iraq, we don\u2019t just achieve greater gender equality within Iraq\u2019s photography industry, we also gain greater equity in storytelling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And storytelling is at the core of everything IFP does. \u201cOur discussions and the advice we exchange have been truly valuable,\u201d Salam says. \u201cThrough the IFP workshop and exhibition, I was able to present my very first documentary project.\u201d As the collective moves forward, armed with resources and female solidarity within a blooming industry, the women of IFP are shaping not only how Iraq is seen, but who gets to do the seeing.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”77749″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”77751″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_separator][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]@ifp_iq_ <\/span><\/em><\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iraqi Female Photographers is a collective addressing systemic sexism, a lack of women\u2019s stories and institutional support in the country<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31071,"featured_media":77750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13023,12837,11910],"tags":[13130,2335,24,13609,45,1191,1148,13608,3801,789,13049,2340,13012,954,9425,11377],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-77683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collective","category-feminism","category-intelligence","tag-arab","tag-community","tag-documentary","tag-empowerment","tag-exhibition","tag-feminism","tag-iraq","tag-iraqi-photographers","tag-mena","tag-middle-east","tag-social-issues","tag-society","tag-swana","tag-women","tag-women-photographers","tag-womens-rights","post_format-post-format-image"],"yoast_head":"\nThrough their eyes: Meet the women in Iraq using photography to create solidarity - 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