A man crosses a busy commercial street in Basra, Iraq's main southern oil city, in September 2018. (Credit: Haidar Mohammed Ali/AFP)
I’ve visited several southern cities, but I rarely felt free to actually walk around them. Every time I get ready to step outside, I feel an instant weight on my chest. Going out feels like navigating a hostile zone, I just want to get where I’m going safely, quietly, and without drawing attention. The streets feel completely dominated by men, some areas force me to hurry, others put me on high alert, and every step feels tense. In our cities, simply leaving the house becomes a battle against the environment itself.It is clear that as young women, public spaces are never neutral for us, we are constantly watched, judged, and measured against everyone’s expectations, that’s why, leaving the house has become strictly practical for me, I only go out when there is an urgent task, moving mechanically from point A to point B. I live in an...
I’ve visited several southern cities, but I rarely felt free to actually walk around them. Every time I get ready to step outside, I feel an instant weight on my chest. Going out feels like navigating a hostile zone, I just want to get where I’m going safely, quietly, and without drawing attention. The streets feel completely dominated by men, some areas force me to hurry, others put me on high alert, and every step feels tense. In our cities, simply leaving the house becomes a battle against the environment itself.It is clear that as young women, public spaces are never neutral for us, we are constantly watched, judged, and measured against everyone’s expectations, that’s why, leaving the house has become strictly practical for me, I only go out when there is an urgent task, moving mechanically from point A to point B. I live in...
