CISAC fellow Huda Ahmed honored for courage in journalism

CISAC fellow Huda Ahmed received a 2007 Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation for her work as a reporter in Baghdad during the Iraq war. The award honored Ahmed and five of her former colleagues at the McClatchy news organization's Baghdad bureau for "their dedication and bravery in reporting and their commitment to journalism," Judy Woodruff, IMWF courage awards committee chair, announced.

"In the midst of the war in Iraq, the women of McClatchy's Baghdad bureau risked their lives just to get to work," the award citation noted. "Driven by the desire to report to the world about the situation in their country, they became the backbone of bureau."

Ahmed often slept in the office to cover news after the city's curfew, the IMWF said. It added that she "covered the battle in Najaf in 2004 and compiled eyewitness accounts of a bombing in Musayyib" among other violent events during her time at the bureau.

The award, presented at ceremonies in New York on Oct. 23 and in Los Angeles on Oct. 30, commended Ahmed and her colleagues for persevering under extreme conditions. "The McClatchy reporters have dodged gun battles and tiptoed around car bombs just to do their jobs. They've been targeted for their work. They've lost family members and friends. Their homes have been destroyed," the IMWF said.