On Women’s Day: The Gift of Life – by Shiraz Paracha

Shiraz Paracha

As a journalist, I have worked with newspapers, television, radio and online companies in Britain, Central Asia and Pakistan. Between 1995 and1996, I hosted and presented very popular television programs (Awami Forum and Awami Jirga) in Pakistan where country’s top opposition leaders were also invited. Till 1998, I was based in Peshawar and covered all major conflicts in Afghanistan. As a war correspondent, I have the experience of working in crisis zones and know how to deal with reports about victims of a war, or affected of a crisis. I covered the 1996 U.S Presidential Elections and traveled throughout the United States during the election campaign. In September 1998, I moved to the United Kingdom to complete my MA in International Journalism. In 1999, I also did a research project for City University London on militant tendencies among the young British Muslims. I had pointed out problems the British society was facing due to its treatment of British Muslims. It was much before 11 September 2001 and July 2005. In 2001-2002, I contributed for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in London. My articles on Afghanistan have been translated in several languages and newspapers around the world have reproduced them. I also worked as a journalist at the Bush House London for the BBC World Service. I was editor for the Middle East, South and Central Asia region at a famous British online news service in London from October 2001 to March 2006. In that capacity, I used to monitor the media in 28 countries, edited copy, supervised and managed a team of journalists that was based in several countries. I worked and traveled in many of the 28 countries outsourcing our business and developing teams of researchers. At Press TV London, I produced one live show and advised on the production of three other live shows from London. I introduced famous people such as George Galloway and journalists Adrew Giligan, Jan Fossgard and Amina Taylor to Press TV. They are Press TV’s big stars now.