March issue of Forward Magazine out

Dear Forward Readers, March 2009 witnessed the annual celebrations of the feminine icon (Mother’s Day and Women’s International Day), but we took a different approach to both anniversaries. Instead of writing about flowers and roses, we investigated the hidden world of abortion in Syria, with women from different walks of life deciding to undergo the procedure due to poverty, ambition or scandal. In the same issue our associate editor in chief, Ruba Saqr, writes about motherhood from the Islamic Sufi perspective, where women reign supreme, while our editor in chief, Sami Moubayed, sheds light on the new smoking habits of Syrian women. Julian Weinberg investigates the influence of mobile phones on the love lives of young Syrian women - liberating them from the tight grip of their families, while in our Homecomers section leading media lady, Hiam Hamwi, tells us her story about coming back to work in Damascus after experiencing stardom at Radio Monte Carlo. On the business front, we celebrate the appointment of our publisher, Abdulsalam Haykal, as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum this year, and publish the full text of an official letter he had sent to Barack Obama ahead of winning the US elections, dubbed “From Damascus to Obama.” Our March issue also has special features about the cinema industry in Syria since the 1920s. Nostalgic narratives of the wife of one of Syria’s leading figures, Khaldoun Maleh, veteran director and co-creator of the most-watched “Sah al-Nom,” is celebrated in a feature story about his life with his wife Majida.