Natasha Walter

Assignment - Can Syria’s Kurds save their women’s revolution? - BBC Sounds What’s the future for Syria’s Kurds now they’re losing their autonomy

I spoke to BBC reporter Tim Whewell for this programme on Syria’s Kurds and the women’s revolution of North East Syria.

Worth a listen, not for me but for the Kurdish women who speak so movingly about their lives transformed- and the threats ahead. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

‘My father was my first dictator’: activist Loubna Mrie, pictured against a black background, speaks to Natasha Walter about oppression, murder and escape from Assad’s Syria

Syrian-born journalist Loubna Mrie speaks to @natashawalter.bsky.social about her raw new memoir, her political awakening, and the power of defiance

www.thenerve.news/p/loubna-mri...

‘My father was my first dictator’: activist Loubna Mrie on oppression, murder and escape from Assad’s Syria In her raw new memoir, the campaigner reveals how her political awakening came at a horrifying cost to her and those she loved – and why, even so, she still believes in the power of defiance, writes N...

I was really glad to speak to Syrian journalist Loubna Mrie for @thenerve.news. Her story is full of pain and loss, but also courage, and yes, Defiance - the title of her new book. www.thenerve.news/p/loubna-mri...

Feminists across the world are paying tribute to Yanar Mohammed, great defender of women’s rights, who was assassinated today in Iraq.

Yanar Mohammed writing for Chatham House

Devastated to learn that the great Yanar Mohammed, founder of the Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq, was assassinated today by 'unknown' gunmen in Baghdad.
Here in her own words:

I see the haters are out in force today talking about sectarianism in the Green Party. Being anti genocide isn’t about sectarianism, it’s the opposite, it’s about recognising our shared humanity.

Thank you to Hannah Spencer and @greenparty.org.uk for giving us hope this February morning.
From now on let’s all vote with confidence for what we care about - environment and equality. 💚💚💚

Keep sharing the words of Akinola Davies Jr that the BBC would not broadcast. Keep repeating them. Keep amplifying them.
Words matter.

This is the saddest thing I’ve seen on the internet today.
Now ChatGPT has chewed up all the books, parents are abandoning books to ask it to regurgitate bedtime stories.
From Mumsnet.

The petition was set up by Savannah, Fiona Holm's daughter.
Savannah is unable to lay her mother to rest as Fiona's body has never been found.
We need justice and accountability for her, and a radical overhaul of policing.
For more on the campaign, go here:
www.projectresist.org.uk/doubleinjust...

Sign the Petition Justice and accountability for Fiona Holm and Naomi Hunte

Justice and accountability for Fiona Holm and Naomi Hunte!
Both women were killed by the same violent partner.
Both women were African Caribbean.
Both women were let down by the police.
Both murders were preventable.
Sign the petition:
www.change.org/p/justice-an...

Rights groups urge airlines to halt ‘one in, one out’ deportation flights British and French activists write to Air France, AlbaStar, Titan and Corendon airlines over ‘shameful involvement’

We've written to the four airlines carrying out deportations under the cruel and inhumane UK-France agreement.

They are: Air France, Titan Airways, AlbaStar Airlines & Corenden Airlines.

We call on them to end their complicity, now.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Why are people always yelling at The Left, a group almost entirely shut out of public life, including mainstream news outlets. You are mad at people on social media. Get a life

This verdict will get a tiny fraction of the coverage of recent Palestine Action acquittals.
But it is also important.
Juries are refusing to convict peaceful protesters who want to prevent genocide & climate catastrophe, despite - or because of - growing authoritarianism from government.

Today, we launch a new campaign: Double Injustice.
Naomi Hunte and Fiona Holm were killed by the same violent partner. On both occasions, the police knew about risks to their lives but did not take any effective action, and both times the result was the woman’s death.

Both deaths were preventable.

The billionaires' eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science Edge - Jeffrey Epstein's favourite intellectual salon - was sold to me as a gathering of the world's finest minds, writes Virginia Heffernan. The files reveal it was something far darker: a decades-lo...

NEW: Read this terrific piece @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social for @thenerve.news in which she unpicks Edge.org, the hugely influential 'salon' funded by Epstein & threaded through with race science & eugenics.
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www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...

Muzna Dureid’s Briefing to the UN Security Council – February 13, 2026 - The Syrian Women's Political Movement Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished members of the Security Council, thank […]

“… my colleagues in the Syrian Women’s Political Movement are holding our General Assembly in Beirut, not Damascus. We requested to meet in Syria, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not grant permission.”
— Muzna Dureid’s briefing to the UN Security Council
syrianwomenpm.org/events/muzna...

The right result. Congratulations to Huda Ammori and all those who resisted the government on this.

I’ve just been in Lebanon for a week. It’s quite something going from a country where about one in four people is a refugee, back to the UK where about one in a hundred people is a refugee. And yet the level of hysteria here about welcoming such relatively small numbers seems to rise all the time.

Glad to be part of this new editorial board for @newhumanist.bsky.social with so many thoughtful people…

“William to meet female footballers during Saudi Arabia tour.” - meaning direct participation in sportwashing and regime gender-washing to obscure systemic human rights abuses.
www.itv.com/news/2026-02...

Policy Paper-Syrian Women Charting the Path of Trust and Justice Towards Civil Peace in Syria - The Syrian Women's Political Movement The Syrian Women’s Political Movement (SWPM) would like to thank […]

Policy paper: Syrian women charting the path of trust and justice towards civil peace in Syria

Consultation and analysis of Syrian women’s visions for building genuine, sustainable civil peace.

Syrian Women’s Political Movement, with support by @wilpf.bsky.social.
syrianwomenpm.org/releases/pol...

What will happen to women’s rights and freedoms in Syria now?
This insightful article unpicks worrying signs of patriarchal repression.

Barrister's powerful speech at Filton Trial reminds jury of its right to defy judge Starmer and the media need convictions to justify Palestine Action's proscription as a terrorist group. Rajiv Menon KC spells out to the jury why it is a vital last defence against government tyranny

Incredible speech by Rajiv Menon KC in the Palestine Action trial. Such clarity and ferocity! Thank you to @jonathan-cook.bsky.social for this: jonathancook.substack.com/p/barristers...

screenshot of Press Gazette homepage leading with "A letter to the 300 axed Washington Post staffers from Carole Cadwalladr"

Lead story @pressgazette.co.uk
"To the journalists of the Washington Post I say, there is another way.... What if you could try to do journalism in a different way? And persuade a community of readers to build a new kind of journalism?"

THANK YOU to our community for making the Nerve a success 🔗👇

Vital reporting on women’s struggle in North East Syria by Matt Broomfield in the Telegraph:

www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...?

Hillary Clinton and Tucker Carlson Walk Into a Saudi Real Estate Forum

I still find it shocking that Hillary Clinton can go and whitewash the patriarchal authoritarianism of Saudi Arabia. For all her stated commitment to women's rights, that she will take money from the state where women are denied many basic rights. Incredible. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/w...

Text of agreement between SDF, Syrian Transitional Govt The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have revealed the text of the agreement concluded with the Syrian Transitional Government, which includes the withdrawal of military forces from contact lines and th...

What one can see of the agreement between Syrian govt & SDF is striking for its commitment to Kurdish rights, formation of new military units- & silence on women's rights. I hope that the women of NE Syria get peace. I hope they don't have to give up too much in return. hawarnews.com/en/text-of-a...

Good to see Princess Kate is braiding her hair. As are thousands of women across the world to show their support for women under threat in Syria. Style or solidarity?

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.

In the chaos and conflict of Syria, it’s vital that Yazidi voices are heard. Memories of genocide are fresh and fears of the future are real. Thanks @jessiewill.bsky.social for this report www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature...