Winthrop Rodgers

Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East

Winthrop Rodgers is a journalist based in Sulaymaniyah, focusing on politics, economics, and human rights. Currently Project Manager at Metrography, Iraq's first photojournalism agency, he was previously Senior Editor at NRT English.

Iraq | Jan 15, 2024

In Iraq's Kurdistan Region, teacher strikes highlight schooling crisis

The regional government is three months behind on paying its public servants, including teachers, as part of larger budget disagreements with Iraq’s federal government.

Iraqi teachers and civil servants protest on Oct. 7, 2015 in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Iraq | Jan 4, 2024

ALM Exclusive

US reduces peshmerga funding amid Iraqi Kurdish political tensions

The reduction comes as the KRG has already been struggling financially due to budget disputes with Baghdad, fluctuating oil prices, and the cost of hosting more than a million refugees and IDPs.

Iraq | Sep 9, 2023

Iraqi Kurdish farmers expect weak tobacco harvest

Aftereffects of genocide, competition from cheap imports and lack of government support combine to limit the market for local agricultural products.

Star Ahmad Sleman, 40, stands in a field of tobacco in Khanaqa, Erbil governorate on September 2, 2023. (Credit: Winthrop Rodgers)

Iraq | Feb 25, 2023

ALM Feature

Artistic heart of Iraq's Kurdistan thrives, but wants more public engagement

Sulaimaniyah, often called the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s “culture capital,” has become something of a haven for artists, though obstacles remain for the vibrant and self-sustaining artistic center they envision.

Artist Tara Abdulla in her studio in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Iraq | Mar 23, 2022

Halabja anniversary takes political turn

Thirty four years after Saddam Hussein's Baath regime launched a chemical attack on the city, resident's of Halabja feel they have been forgotten by Iraqi and Kurdish authorities.