Eman Mohammad & Stories from Palestine

Last Tuesday, my students and I watched this Ted Talk by Eman Mohammad, one of the few female photographers in Gaza:


She tells us about the death threats she received upon choosing her career path, the photo agencies in Palestine that refused to train her, and a particularly traumatic experience when her colleagues pranked her by leaving her stranded in an open air strike zone. She also tells us that, because she is a woman, she has access to moments male photographers wouldn't--and it is those moments she chooses to capture. She says that she wants to show the full frame of life in Palestine, not just the war-torn parts we're so accustomed to seeing in American media.

I feel like so often, all we hear or see about the middle east is "war." The stories Mohammad shares, the moments she gives us access to, are so incredibly valuable because she adds to the larger narrative of life in Palestine. That it's not just protests and bombs and rubble. There are family dinners and birthday parties. There is laughter. There is friendship.

Here is some of her work:

A general view of Gaza's beach on a busy Friday afternoon. (Photo by Eman Mohammed/Getty Images) #

Young girls read verses of the Qura'an at Dar el Quran in Gaza. (Photo by Eman Mohammed/Getty Images) #

Sabah, 14, the only female surfer in the Gaza strip going into the water for a warmup before she starts her daily hour of surfing. #