Joumana Haddad

is an award-winning Lebanese poet, novelist, journalist and human rights activist. She was the cultural editor of An-Nahar newspaper for numerous years, and she now hosts a TV show focusing on human rights issues in the Arab world. She is the founder and director of the Joumana Haddad Freedoms Center, an organization promoting human rights values in Lebanese youth, as well as the founder and editor in chief of JASAD magazine, a first of its kind publication focused on the literature, arts and politics of the body in the Arab world. She has been repeatedly selected as one of the world’s 100 most influential Arab women. Joumana has published more than 15 books in different genres, which have been widely translated and published around the world. Amongst these are The Return of Lilith, I Killed Scheherazade and Superman is an Arab. The Book of Queens is her latest novel, published in 2022 by Interlink.

Lebanon’s Holy Gatekeepers of Free Speech

Lebanon’s Holy Gatekeepers of Free Speech

When religious fanatics in Lebanon aren’t fighting one another, they make the best war comrades against modernity, secularism,...

6 SEPTEMBER 2024 • By Joumana Haddad
“I, Mariam”—a story by Joumana Haddad

“I, Mariam”—a story by Joumana Haddad

Joumana Haddad's short story delves into a woman's lifelong journey of navigating her relationship with the hijab.

26 APRIL 2024 • By Joumana Haddad
The Fires of Shame; the Burn of Desire

The Fires of Shame; the Burn of Desire

Joumana Haddad lays bare the physical and cerebral journey that has led her to experience the best sex...

3 MARCH 2024 • By Joumana Haddad
LSD in the Arab World: Porn, Sade, and the Next-Door Flasher

LSD in the Arab World: Porn, Sade, and the Next-Door Flasher

In LSD's centerpiece, Joumana Haddad argues that with a dire need for political and economic reforms in most...

4 FEBRUARY 2024 • By Joumana Haddad
“I, Hanan”—a Gazan tale of survival by Joumana Haddad

“I, Hanan”—a Gazan tale of survival by Joumana Haddad

A young woman in Gaza who has already lost so much wants to live another day, in this...

3 DECEMBER 2023 • By Joumana Haddad
Bahar: 22 years in the Life of a Compulsory Hijabi in Teheran

Bahar: 22 years in the Life of a Compulsory Hijabi in Teheran

Joumana Haddad tells the true story of a young Iranian woman in Tehran, albeit vehicled by fiction.

20 NOVEMBER 2023 • By Joumana Haddad
I, SOUAD or the Six Deaths of a Refugee From Aleppo

I, SOUAD or the Six Deaths of a Refugee From Aleppo

Poet and novelist Joumana Haddad tells the true story of a refugee from Aleppo who winds up on...

9 OCTOBER 2023 • By Joumana Haddad
Joumana Haddad: “Victim #232”

Joumana Haddad: “Victim #232”

A preview of the new Arabic novel from the author of "I Killed Scheherazade" and "Superman is an...

15 JUNE 2022 • By Joumana Haddad, Rana Asfour
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