XUFRAN EL RADÎ

Baghdad- 22^nd Baghdad International Book Fair has been annually held in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. Last year, the book fair wasn’t held due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The book fair opened its doors to the general public on June 10 and it would end on June 20 but the organizers announced that the book fair will be open more days due to intense interest to the fair.

Zaman El Hassan was one of the female authors who participated in the book fair to sign their books for readers. We spoke to her about her latest released book named, “The village of Anecdotes”. Zaman El Hassan wrote her book when she was pregnant. Stating that her feelings are reflected in her book, Zaman El Hassan tried to write a book giving people hope. She describes her book as, “A fuss for proving the existence of women and their role in life.”

Zaman El Hassan is an author, women’s rights activist, and accountant and she is a very young author, in her thirties.

“I couldn’t live under this burden anymore”

“I think the happy and painful stories have turned into imagination for Iraqi women. There are legends in the light and dark. My interest in women’s issues began before starting writing. It just becomes more visible when I started writing about them. In our region, Iraqi women experience and feel various types of grief. Even if they don’t experience it, they feel the grief of others. Women are oppressed in the world. Women are oppressed in my country. Knowing this was a burden for me and I couldn’t live under this burden anymore. That’s why I began to write about women. I thought I should write the injustice in the world, particularly against women. I thought I should write these for the next generation.”

She tells Iraqi women in her books

Zaman El Hassan tries to write conditions and characteristics of Iraqi women particularly based on their own lives. “I chose to write about the village life because the history in villages and cities are totally different from each other. We have grown and lived with the village culture for thousands of years. The reason why I chose to write about village life to write about women and women’s issues is about the history of the villages.

Zaman El Hassan has written articles and stories since 2016. “When my articles and stories were published by newspapers and magazines, the opinions of critics and writers inspired me to focus more on developing myself.”

 

“I am one of the passionate followers of the book fair”

 

When she began to write her family and people around her supported her. “The village of Anecdotes” is her first book and she chose the Baghdad International Book Fair to sign her book because “I am one of the passionate followers of the Baghdad International Book Fair. I have participated in its activities for years. It is very important for me. I wanted to be a part of this cultural event.”

 

“It's nice to know that my book is liked”

Zaman El Hassan believes that the book fair is an opportunity to meet authors and get to know them face to face. “I have met many authors at this book fair. I saw how Iraqi authors take care about the participation of women in Arab literature and culture. Now, I am here as an author and it’s nice to know that my book is liked by people.”

 

“Poet Lamia Amara was a role model”

 

Zaman El Hassan also talked about Iraqi Poet Lamia Amara, who died on June 18. “Poet Lamia Amara was one of the most important and effective poets for the people of Iraq. She was a role model for women.”