ABSTRACT
Over the past decade, photography has gradually moved to the forefront of my creative and intellectual engagement with the world. It is only natural that as I explored gender and conflict in my research and writing, my eye would be drawn to images evocative of this theme. The request from Feminist Review to supply commentary for a selection of my photojournalism led to discussions with one of the issue’s editors, Laura Shepherd, about which photos might best serve. I was thus able to consider for inclusion images that had caught Laura’s eye more than mine. I extend my deep gratitude to Laura, both for commissioning the article that became this chapter, and for shaping it with the insights she contributed and prompted. I also thank Nazar Jamil Abdulazeez for inviting me to participate in the 3rd International Conference of the Mass Graves in Iraq, held in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, in April 2011. It is with two images derived from this visit that I begin (Figures 9.1 and 9.2). A bomb casing once housing chemical munitions, used in the Halabja massacre, now a flowerpot at the entrance to Halabja's memorial museum. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203494011/8f1fb956-8b49-43ec-8e65-a15e17290bf2/content/fig9_1_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> A mounted photograph of an Anfal genocide survivor, on a stack awaiting mounting in an exhibition in Rizgary, Iraqi Kurdistan. The exhibition was organized by Haukari (<uri><a href="https://www.haukari.de" target="_blank">www.haukari.de</a></uri>), a German-sponsored organization that works with Anfal women survivors and widows. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203494011/8f1fb956-8b49-43ec-8e65-a15e17290bf2/content/fig9_2_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
