Iraq's Snapchat Revolution
Iraq's young women lead a snapchat revolution
The murder of 22-year-old Iraqi model and Snapchat star Tara Fares in 2018 sparked shock and outrage worldwide. For the small and growing community of young Iraqis for whom Tara was a symbol of a freer Iraq, her life and death continue to reverberate.
One of Tara’s closest friends can't make sense of her death: “She only wanted to make her own brand and work with it. Why did she deserve to die for that?” This question echoes through the streets of Baghdad, where a young generation are questioning the conservative rules that govern their lives. “When I look around in Iraq, I don’t see a young generation who just follow their dreams, aspirations and desires,” says 15-year-old influencer Maram Odey. Like Tara, Maram and other young women share images of their lives online. They are campaigners for a less repressive Iraq; but Tara’s fate is a terrifying reminder of what is at stake. Mohammed Ali, a lawyer for women in Iraqi courts for 12 years, says, “Our society cannot possibly develop whilst we still kill women.”
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