Jessie Williams

It was a real joy to meet the Syrian photographers, painters and sculptors forging a new path in post-Assad Syria for @huckmag.com 🎨

The violence in Iran could lead to civil war As America masses an armada, the regime’s response to recent protests is radicalising Iranians

Sobering reporting on the risk of Iranian civil war. 'According to multiple accounts, masked men armed with knives killed basijis, the regime’s volunteer vigilantes. “It’s already a civil war,” says a young woman in Mashhad. “We’re just not saying it.”' www.economist.com/middle-east-...

Photos from Yarmouk camp on the outskirts of Damascus, which @tamaradavison.bsky.social and I visited in December to speak to families returning to homes with no electricity or running water, & bracing against freezing temps. Our dispatch for @thenewarab.bsky.social: www.newarab.com/features/yar...

Thank you for sharing, Natasha.

The revolutionary women of Rojava are in grave danger. That has consequences for us all | Natasha Walter For a decade, the autonomous territory in Syria has been a bastion of gender equality. It holds important lessons for the fight against authoritarianism, says author Natasha Walter

The threat to Rojava is grave and resonates beyond Syria. This is where the phrase Woman Life Freedom was first used. This cannot be where it dies.
I write for the Guardian about why we should all be standing by the women in NE Syria in these desperate times.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Syrian women defying violence – and Trump’s aid cuts – to protect their families As global aid is slashed by Donald Trump, essential services for women in Syria are closing – with devastating consequences at a pivotal moment for the war-scarred country. Jessie Williams visits wome...

"How can we create a society if we don't have a home?"

Amidst economic pressure, funding cuts and growing numbers of returnees, the future for many in Syria remains uncertain.

@jessiewill.bsky.social visited an IRC centre in Homs: www.independent.co.uk/news/world/m...

Via @the-independent.com

Fear and uncertainty for Yazidis and Kurds in Syria amid government advances For minority groups in the northeast, the fragile ceasefire comes with more profound questions over their future in Syria.

With the Syrian govt advancing into northeast Syria over the last few weeks, taking control of swathes of Kurdish-held territory, I spoke to people from 2 minority groups – Yazidis and Kurds – who are fearful of the future. For
@newhumanitarian.bsky.social www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature...

The Syrian women defying violence – and Trump’s aid cuts – to protect their families As global aid is slashed by Donald Trump, essential services for women in Syria are closing – with devastating consequences at a pivotal moment for the war-scarred country. Jessie Williams visits wome...

As global aid is slashed, essential services for women and girls in Syria are closing – with devastating consequences at a pivotal moment for the country. But women are finding ways to resist. My report and photos from Syria in
@the-independent.com www.independent.co.uk/news/world/m...

I interviewed the extraordinary @payzee.bsky.social, a survivor of child marriage and 'honour-based' abuse, for Service95. Her sister Banaz was murdered in an 'honour' killing in 2006. Payzee now works to protect other women from the suffering she and Banaz endured. www.service95.com/payzee-mahmo...

The theatre group putting refugees at centre stage Phosphoros Theatre uses performance to tell stories of forced displacement, from the people who have lived through it

'We want to be in our country. But it’s the situation that brought us here.’

Read about the refugee-led Phosphoros Theatre, where actors share untold stories on stage.

✍🏻Jessie Williams | 🎭Phosphoros Theatre

hyphenonline.com/2025/09/24/p...

Nothing says “tough on Russia” like giving Putin a red carpet, an air show, and a bro hug.

In May FIFA announced it would support the creation of a new Afghan women's refugee team, which will enable selected players to compete in international friendlies, but not official, competitive matches. Yousufi says this is a "big step" but players still want full recognition.

"It’s not only about us representing Afghanistan, to wear the jersey, to have the same freedom we had – it’s beyond that,” says captain Fatima Yousufi. “It’s about all those girls – young, old, all of those women who are in Afghanistan. The biggest mission for our team is to be a voice for them."

Afghanistan’s women’s football team are fighting to play Having fled the Taliban takeover, the exiled women have recently been recognised as a refugee team by FIFA. But they still want to properly compete.

Today marks 4 years since the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan. The national women's football team escaped to Australia and are still campaigning for official recognition from FIFA so they can represent their country in exile. My piece in
@huckmag.com www.huckmag.com/article/afgh...

When public media disappears, so do the stories that bring us together.

With federal funding eliminated, millions may lose their last trusted source of news and connection.

If that matters to you, now’s the time to act. Donate: n.pr/458sOhq

I’m a mother of three in Gaza – we are dizzy from hunger 'I am dizzy a lot of the time - I am dizzy right now,' says Faten Abu Shamalah, 41

100+ NGOs say Israel’s months-long siege is causing mass starvation to spread across Gaza. I spoke to a Palestinian mother of three who told me that she often feels dizzy with hunger and sometimes goes without food so her children can eat. For @theipaper.com inews.co.uk/news/world/i...

The weeks following the launch of the new distribution scheme have been some of the deadliest since October 2023, with almost 800 Palestinians killed trying to get food, and thousands more injured, according to the UN.

“People go [to the distribution sites] knowing that they could very well be the next casualty. It’s not just being shot to death, it’s you could be maimed and paralysed, you can be hit and be amputated, and you could have a shell explode and give you some sort of internal injury," says Dr Fadlalla.

I'm a doctor in Gaza - I'm treating a rising number of patients for bullet wounds Doctors report that since the opening of Israeli-US-backed aid distribution sites, the number of patients severely wounded by bullets and shrapnel has surged

I interviewed an @msf.ca doctor working in a field hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, who told me he's seen a surge in patients with bullet and shrapnel injuries since the new Israeli-US-backed aid distribution scheme started. inews.co.uk/news/world/d...

Peace is "far from guaranteed:” Iranians Face Trauma and Repression After the Israel-Iran War A dust storm swept through Tehran Tuesday morning, cloaking the city of 10 million with reduced visibility and deteriorated air quality. But it also brought a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran...

“I feel shattered in my heart because I feel like we are being stripped out of our agency, our will and our choices... we are paying the price with our blood,” @jessiewill.bsky.social reports on Iranian reactions to the Israel-Iran, in DAWN's Democracy in Exile.

Peace is far from guaranteed:” Iranians Face Trauma and Repression After the Israel-Iran War A dust storm swept through Tehran Tuesday morning, cloaking the city of 10 million with reduced visibility and deteriorated air quality. But it also brought a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran...

For the last 2 weeks I've been speaking to Iranians inside and outside Iran. While peace appears to be holding following the bloody 12-day war with Israel, they are bracing themselves - not only for more bombs but a wave of repression from the Islamic Republic. My piece: dawnmena.org/peace-is-far...

When your editors ask you what you plan to say in the story you were supposed to file that afternoon:

Women and Girls’ Bodies Become a Frontline in the DRC’s Mineral War — More to Her Story An average of 60 rapes a day were reported in eastern Congo in a span of just two weeks — a crisis unfolding in silence as the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence ...

On the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, Kelly Kimball and I looked at how women and girls’ bodies have become a frontline in eastern DRC’s mineral war — with over 60 rapes reported daily in a two-week span.
www.moretoherstory.com/stories/wome...

Sri Lanka’s War Widows Are Clearing Its Land of Mines The ongoing demining work has provided a lifeline to many and proved a great success, but the country bears other wounds that may be harder to heal

NEW: Sri Lankan women are helping to clear the land mines that are a legacy of their country’s civil war, but while the land may be healing, society is not, reports @jessiewill.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social

newlinesmag.com/reportage/sr...

“We’re ready for a battle; we’re ready to fight, and we understand what the stakes are,” says Ramatu Bangura, co-chief executive at Purposeful. “These forces that are coming into our country from outside are designed to take us back to a colonial era that we’re not interested in going back to.”

‘We’re ready to fight’: activists brace as US anti-rights figures descend on Africa Ultra-conservative campaigners fly in for ‘family values’ conferences to share tactics with African allies who oppose abortion and LGBTQ+ rights

I interviewed activists in Africa who are bracing themselves for an influx of some of the most powerful, ultra-conservative, anti-rights campaigners from the US & Europe over the coming months at a series of "family values" conferences. For @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

1/ For ProPublica’s “Life of the Mother” series, winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for public service, we reported on five pregnant women who died after not receiving timely medical care in states with strict abortion bans.

These are their stories 🧵

Russia’s ‘Ghost Detainees’: The Investigation That Cost Viktoriia Roshchyna Her Life Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was pronounced dead in Russian captivity in October 2024, after being secretly held for months in Russian-occupied Ukraine and a Russian prison. In February 20...

Journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna disappeared in 2022 while reporting on the torture of Ukrainian civilians held in informal detention centers by Russian force. In October 2024, she was declared dead in Russian captivity.

Read our full investigation 👉 forbiddenstories.org/russia-detai...

Turkey protests continue despite government ban, mass arrests and media crackdown Protesters tell The i Paper they are facing police brutality and expect it to escalate

I interviewed protestors in Istanbul about why they are taking to the streets. “The government is now usurping our freedoms, our right to vote and be elected, and even our lives as individuals,” 19-year-old Rana told me while on her way to a protest. For @theipaper.com inews.co.uk/news/world/t...

#JournoRequest Looking to speak to young people in Turkey who are participating in the demonstrations in Istanbul after the arrest of #İmamoğlu for
@theipaper.com. Can be anonymous. Please get in touch asap, thanks!