MAYADA DAUGHTER OF IRAQ

Mayada was born into a powerful Iraqi family. One grandfatherfought alongside Lawrence of Arabia. The other is acclaimed as the first trueArab nationalist. Her uncle was Prime Minister for nearly forty years, hermother an important politician. When Saddam Hussein and his Ba'ath party seizedpower, and instituted his reign of terror, Mayada found herself alone inBaghdad, a divorced parent of two children, earning a meagre living printingbrochures. Until one morning in August 1999 she was summarily arrested anddragged to the notorious Baladiyat Prison, falsely accused of printinganti-government propaganda. There she was thrown into a cell with 17 'shadowwomen'. Like latter-day Sherezades, these women passed their days, whilewaiting for the next interrogation and torture session, telling each othertheir stories.

 They were eager to hear Mayada's stories of her privilegedformer life, of the history of her proud family, of kings and queens, ofmeetings with Saddam himself. This book is a powerful witness to the terror andhorror wrought by Saddam on the lives and souls of its ordinary citizens.