Here’s a small break in tradition: this blog doesn’t usually advertise events in advance (or ever) – but this event is different. The Freedom to Write Campaign group is organising an (almost) International Women’s Day Reading, hosted by Staccato Literary Salon and supported by Banshee Literary Journal. The theme is Freedom of Expression and we will feature the work of two brave women writers who are at risk because of their writing. All the information you need is below.
With thanks to Irish PEN, Fighting Words and Frontline Defenders
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This is a Freedom to Write campaign event
Hosted by Staccato Literary Salon
& Supported by Banshee Literary Journal, Fighting Words and Irish PEN
READERS:
Laura Cassidy,
Celia de Fréine
Lauren Foley
Lisa Harding
Maria McManus
MUSIC: Tracey Gallagher
FEATURED Writers-at-Risk:
NURCAN BAYSAL (Turkey) read by Lia Mills
HADEEL BUQRAIS (Kuwait) read by Catherine Dunne
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Who we are: The Freedom to Write Campaign is an independent group of writers that has emerged from WORD, a professional writers’ network associated with the Irish Writers Centre (sic). We work to promote Freedom of Expression by raising public awareness about the plight of writers who are at risk or in prison, or who have been murdered because of their writing. We are linked with Irish PEN and we have worked with PEN International, Fighting Words and Frontline Defenders on some of our actions to date.
Members of FTW have recently worked with Fighting Words and Frontline Defenders on a book that highlights the work of our featured writers-at-risk, along with others (see below). We decided to recognise these two brave women as our featured writers-at-risk for this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations.
Picture Jason Clarke.
NURCAN BAYSAL http://nurcanbaysal.blogspot.com/
Nurcan Baysal is a Kurdish human rights activist and writer, based in Diyarbakir, Turkey. She has been active in poverty and development issues and in setting up a number of NGOs in the Region and has won many awards for her work. She is a member of the women’s movement and several peace movements in Turkey. She is at risk because her journalism, blogs and other writing focus on human rights and war crimes. Her latest book O Sesler/Those Voices describes the bombardment of Diyarbakir 2016-217.
HADEEL BUQRAIS 
http://hadeelbuqrais.blogspot.com/
Hadeel Buqrais is a human rights defender and writer. She works as a freelancer to monitor and document human rights violations by the Kuwaiti government. She has been actively involved in ‘Namshi Laha’, (‘Walking for Her’), a campaign to secure rights for women in Saudi Arabia. Hadeel also campaigns for equality for the Bidun, an ethnic minority within Kuwait that is subjected to wholesale discrimination.
In summer 2019 Fighting Words in partnership with Front Line Defenders will publish a collection of writings by women writers about women human rights defenders around the world. The publication includes pieces about Kurdish journalist Nurcan Baysal and Kuwaiti writer Hadeel Buqrais, in addition to human rights defenders from Tunisia, Sudan, Egypt, Palestine and Somalia. For information on this publication contact orla@fightingwords.ie
For more information on how you might support Human Rights work in relation to writers who are at risk, in prison or have been murdered because of their writing please go to the following websites:
PEN International: https://pen-international.org/
Irish PEN: https://pen-international.org/centres/irish-centre
Frontline Defenders: https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/
Fighting Words: https://www.fightingwords.ie/
OTHER SITES OF INTEREST:
Irish Writers Centre: www.writerscentre.ie
Staccato Literary Salon hold sessions every month at Toner’s: https://www.facebook.com/groups/417591508451471/
Banshee Literary Journal: Bansheelit.tumblr.com
Libran Writer (Lia Mills) 