NewsLab

Every success story has its secrets. And Al Jazeera’s “Every Woman”, could be no exception. One of its secrets is Shiulie Ghosh. On “Every woman”, she and her team uncover the stories that women from different educational and racial backgrounds want to share with viewers around the world. In our blog, she uncovers herself, her aspirations and her views, as a prominent journalist and a presenter of one of the most popular programs on Al Jazeera International.

Shiulie Ghosh joined Al Jazeera in 2006 and she was the first anchor to appear along with Sami Zeidan, when the station launched in November of the same year. But her successful career in journalism had its roots in England many years ago. Before Al Jazeera, she was working for ITV network in London, covering major events around the globe. Her reporting from Thailand on the Asian tsunami was awarded the 2006 Alfred I. Dupont Columbia News Broadcasting Award and in 2001 Shiulie was named Best Television News Journalist at the British Telecom Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards. Her current show, tackling various subjects like religion, society, sex, education and arts, all from women’s perspectives has granted her another prestigious prize, from the Association of International Broadcasting. But let’s meet the woman and journalist Shiulie Ghosh.

1. How was the idea of this show born?

The show was conceived by an extraordinary woman called Maire Devine, an ex-BBC producer who came to Al Jazeera English with the idea of making a current affairs program about gender issues. It was the first such show in the Middle East/Africa region, and for a long time the only one. Funnily enough, when Maire first proposed it she had to beat off opposition from two extreme ends of the camp – those who thought it was too “old-fashioned”, and those who felt it was too controversial

2. Do you believe that programs like “Every woman” can make a difference, concerning the role of women in today’s society?

I think programs like Everywoman are extremely important in those parts of the world where gender equality is not practiced and rarely discussed. Places where women’s health, education, political representation and legal standing are subjugated to the rights of men. Bringing these issues to the fore and raising awareness among communities can alter opinions and lead to change, e.g. women’s right to vote in Kuwait won in 2005. So yes, I do believe program.

3. How popular can a program like “Every woman” be?

“Everywoman” is an extremely popular program. Not only have we won a Media Excellence Award from the Association of International Broadcasting, but we have hundreds of emails from all over the world praising our output. Our programs can be seen on the internet at www.youtube.com and are the most downloaded from Al Jazeera.

4. In a male-dominated field like the mass media, how difficult it was for you to chase your dreams?

It wasn’t difficult at all to chase my dreams. I had extremely supportive parents who always made it clear to me that I could achieve whatever I wanted if I worked hard enough. I was very driven in my choice of career, and lucky enough to have people who believed in me and gave me chances to prove myself. Being a woman has never held me back – but then again, I was chasing my dream in the UK. How different had it been Afghanistan or parts of the Middle East.

5. What was the most difficult moment of your life? And the most inspiring?

I haven’t really had to endure physical difficulty. I’ve never had problems with health or poverty like so many of the women I report on. But emotionally, the most difficult time was when I was covering the Asian Tsunami in 2004. I saw hundreds of bodies being shoveled into mass graves - so many children dead and many more orphaned. It was a tough experience. The most inspiring moments come from meeting people who never give up, who strive to make a difference no matter what the personal cost. The people who oppose the regime in Iran, or those who struggle against Robert Mugabe.
What are my aspirations? To do the best that I can and try to make the world a better place for my daughter.

6. What is your motto in life?

I have many mottos – I pick the one to suit my mood. Today, I am in a ‘Carpe Diem’ frame of mind – ‘Seize the day’.

7. Who are the women you admire most?

I admire women like HH Sheikha Mozah of Qatar, who is doing so much to increase women’s education in Asia, or Saudi campaigner Wajeha Huwaider who posted a video of herself driving a car in defiance of the driving ban on women.

8. Do you think that there has been progress in the struggle of Arab women to assert their rights? What are the major problems they have to deal with today?

I think women have made great strides in the Arab world – in Kuwait, as I said before, they have voting rights. In Morocco women are trained as religious guides. In countries like Lebanon and Qatar, there are increasing numbers of businesswomen and scholars. Even in the suppressive regime of Saudi Arabia, more women then ever are entering the workforce. But women have huge obstacles to overcome. The effect of fundamentalism in Afghanistan, Iraq and Gaza has greatly restricted women’s freedoms. Many receive death threats if they speak out about equality or go into public roles like the media. Women have lower levels of literacy then men – for example in Yemen, 62% of women are illiterate compared to 29% men. And everywhere, there is still a social and familial infrastructure which makes it very difficult for Muslim women to veer from the accepted path of marriage, babies, submissiveness to men. These are the obstacles that have to be overcome for true equality.