Is there any movement today in Jordan—besides your work—to address honor killings?
There are three groups on Facebook. They called for a march but it did not happen. I might start an NGO after the book comes out because there are a lot of young Jordanian people who send me e-mails and are excited to do something, but they don’t know where to go or what to do. For a long time I did not want to open an NGO because I thought I was more effective with the way I was reporting, the activism and the lecturing. But I think I will have to open an NGO because there are so many people who want to do something and there is no one uniting them. I don’t know what to do either, but the only way to begin to deal with this is to open an NGO that specializes in dealing in this issue.
Beat reporters usually don’t get paid very much. What makes you keep doing this work?
Listen, in addition to all the rewards I have received from doing this work, I know I have saved people’s lives. I know that for sure. Knowing this helps me to sleep at night. All my work, my activism, my lecturing has saved someone’s life, and this means the world to me.
Rana Husseini will be in the US this month on a speaking and advocacy tour. On April 14, she will be part of a panel discussion in Washingston, DC on “Filling in Gaps in Understanding the Nature of Femicide: Strengthening Information and Advocacy.” For more infomation, contact Monique Widyono ([email protected]). Husseini will also be speaking at New York University in Manhattan later that week. For more information: Visit www.chronogram.com.