The major thing that I’ve found –
and this happens on every story,
everywhere I go – is that these
stories are incredibly complicated
in terms of their detail. You can sit
for an hour talking about detail and
background and the relationship
between the two sides of the
argument. How do you explain that
to someone in Nigeria or Brazil
who’s interested in world news but
doesn’t know the nitty-gritty of
politics in Egypt or Libya or
Pakistan? I think that’s the big
difference between what someone
like me does and what my equivalent
at a local channel would do.
What have been the challenges –
and opportunities – in being a
woman journalist reporting from
these regions?
Reporting in Egypt in the last few
months was quite dangerous
because the situation was extremely
tense. People were ready to accuse
you of everything, and there was a
mob mentality in Egypt. If people
decide you're a spy or decide you’re
funded by the West to spread ideas
about Egypt, then you’re done for.
The last thing you want is a bunch
of people ganging up on you in the
street, and there’s been a lot of that
in Egypt because of the high
tension and the conspiracy theories
that are rife now.
It’s well known by now that
Egyptian streets are very
unfriendly to women. There are
huge rates of sexual harassment in
Egypt – one of the highest rates in
the world. So as a woman you have
to be very, very careful. And I’m a
woman covering a very sensitive
story, so it's a double threat.
Having said that, I can’t think of
People on
the street
are ques-
tioning the
media far
more -
they’re
much
more savvy
”
a time where I had a big problem. I
was mobbed once with a producer,
but that got resolved very quickly.
There’s a definite benefit to
knowing the dynamics of the
society and the dynamics of the
story. You can sense very quickly
how things are going on the street
and if a crowd is changing.
I think Pakistan is different. I
have yet to absorb all these
nuances. Generally, on the street in
Pakistan, they’re friendlier to media
than in Egypt. If you take out a
camera in Egypt, you get a million
people coming up to you, “What
are you doing? Which channel do
you work for? Is this a Western
channel? What are you trying to
say about our country?” This hasn’t
happened in Pakistan.
There are so many channels in
Pakistan and so many journalists
out on the street. You do get stared
at, but people are just curious. So
the challenges are different.
One thing is how pleasantly
surprised and how impressed I am
with the number of women
journalists in Pakistan. Not just on
the streets, but on the channels – so
many women journalists. Obviously,
they’re in big cities, but still I didn’t
expect to see as many female faces
on the screens as I have.
Why do you think that is?
I think it’s where the culture is.
There are many, many educated
young women in Pakistan and they
see this as an opportunity. There is
this proliferation of channels – local
news channels, newspapers and
radio stations – and many young
women see this as a chance to get a
career in the media.
I don’t know how many women
presenters there were ten years ago
– there may have been more – but
from the picture that outsiders get
of Pakistan, you don’t think you’ll
find many women journalists or
women TV anchors. But there are
lots and I find that quite refreshing.
We’re seeing many more instances
of journalists under threat. Do you
think it’smoredangerousnow?
Absolutely. Especially in places like
Egypt. In 2011 I was picked up very
briefly by the military. It’s nothing
like what Peter andMohamed and
Baher have been through at Al
Jazeera, but I spent a day and a
night there, and that was simply for
being on the street. That brought
home the risks.
It is very tricky for journalists at
the moment, because there are so
many conspiracy theories. And the
political atmosphere in those
countries has changed a lot. In 2012
we made a radio documentary series
called
Egypt’s Challenge
where we
examined how the Muslim
Brotherhood’s rule was affecting
Egypt and how the revolution was
doing. I would be in jail now for
trying to interview the people that I
interviewed at that time – and many
of them are in jail today. That
change has happened in less than a
year and a half. It’s a dramatic
change in what you are or are not
allowed to do in the eyes of the
authorities.
The terms “spying”, “conspiracy”,
“being funded by the West”, “threat-
ening national security” are thrown
very easily at journalists who are
simply trying to do their jobs and
ask questions about what’s going
on. I think they’re very obvious
symptoms of a security state or a
state that’s trying to control
everything through the prism of
security. In that atmosphere it’s
very difficult to try to tell the truth,
to question authority. You’ve got to
be really careful, because you don’t
know who is watching you or
who’s listening to you.
One thing that I find interesting
is that people on the street are
questioning the media a lot more.
You find that in the West, but you
now find that in the Middle East as
well. The people are so savvy at the
moment. I think it’s because there is
so much choice. You get people
saying, “This anchor says this, but
the other anchor says this – that
doesn’t make any sense.” You do
get from the audience that they’re
much more aware of what’s out
there and much more critical of it.
Shaimaa Khalil, thank you.
THE CHANNEL
|
JOURNALISM
62
|
ISSUE 1 2015
|
THE CHANNEL
“
Shaimaa
Khalil live from
Islamabad on
BBC World News
