Sameera Aziz
Encyclopedia
Sameera Aziz is a Saudi national
journalist
, senior editor and novelist. She is most notable for her work with the Saudi Gazette
newspaper, and as a guest speaker regarding international, social, expatriates, animals and women issues.
, Saudi Arabia. She was the second-oldest of three children to Aziz-ur-Rehman, a bravery award holder of Pakistan navy
and Mehar Afroz, a Beautician from United States of America. Her parents first migrated to Pakistan
from India
and then to Saudi Arabia
and United States of America consecutively. She is the only daughter with two brothers, Faisal Aziz and Fahad Aziz. Her early education was completed abroad, in Karachi
’s Gulistan Shah Abdul Latif School, and later at PECHS Girl’s College and the University of Karachi. She married at 16, and completed her education with the moral support of her husband, which is required by Saudi law
. Before completing her PhD
in Trade relations, she received Masters degrees in International Relations
and Journalism
.
Sameera shot into fame from her early obscure life. Born to Pakistani expatriate parents in Saudi Arabia
, Sameera was orphaned at the age of 2, when her father died of heart failure. The tragedy traumatized the entire family, comprising her mother and two brothers.
Sameera’s mother was hardly 24 years of age when she became a widow. The tragedy disturbed her mother so much that she lost her mental balance for five years. This happened at a time when young Sameera and her two brothers were in dire need of care and support.
In the absence of proper care, her early childhood days and most part of her teenage life was filled with hardships and untold sufferings. But the tribulations in life never disheartened Sameera, rather taught her to face adversities with boldness.
At the nine, Sameera dabbled in writing which later in her life turned into passion. She contributed articles to magazines that apart from her school also included largely circulated Hamdard Magazine and others. Besides her studies, she supported her mother in young age by working in her beauty salon at home. As a young girl, she was very athletic and played cricket, enjoyed inline roller skating and cycling.
The turning point in her life came when at 16, she got married to a Saudi national, who offered her all support for continuation of her studies. At this stage of life through her bold and candid writings, sting operations, poetry and authoring a novel, she carved a niche in the field of journalism and became a household name in Saudi and expatriate families in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After joining the Saudi Gazette
daily, she became increasingly accepted and appreciated in Saudi Journalism.
-based Saudi Gazette
, one of the two English language
newspapers printed in the country. Until it ceased publication in 2009, Sameera Aziz was simultaneously managing editor
of Awaz, a youth-oriented weekly Urdu
newspaper, published by parent company Okaz.
She formerly served as a writer for Gulf News
and several other Pakistan based newspapers (during 1999). She also served as the supervising editor of the women's sections in Urdu News and Urdu Magazine, owned by Saudi Research and Marketing Group. Her columns and features are written exclusively in English and Urdu and being translated into other languages. She focuses on Saudi domestic, social, cultural, educational and expatriate’s issues as well as Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the international community. She conducted undercover sting operations - the rare genre in Saudi journalism - and became the part of bold experiments in the new progressive Saudi Journalism. She has belief in the professional, humanitarian and nurturing kind of power women exercise in the workplace.
Some of her work shows the courage, while she focused on the challenges of social and labor issues, human rights, women's rights, violence against children, and other issues of concern to the community. She became a Saudi voice while highlighting Saudi employers' issues, which were being earlier addressed in an unfair manner at English media, which was almost got handled by non-Saudi desk editors, who did not have the clear picture about the family trends and matters of Saudi society. She spoke about the ill-treatment and crimes of domestic workers in Saudi Arabia and condemned their propaganda that was being carried out against many guiltless Saudi employers.
In 2007, she was awarded title of Youth Ambassador by We The Youth, a talent promotion organization and a special souvenir was given to her by Usman Shahid, President of We The Youth and other team members / volunteers. In 2009, she was awarded Pride of the Nation award during a ceremony at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She is known as a moderate Muslim and a human rights' volunteer.
, who holds an executive
level position at the Saudi Airlines Cargo company. She has two children, Reem Eskander and Ahmed Eskander.
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, senior editor and novelist. She is most notable for her work with the Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette is the leading English language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. and is currently available both in print and online.As of July 1, 2011, Dr Omar S. Elmershedi is the Saudi Gazette Editor-in-Chief.Managing Editor: Shams Ahsan...
newspaper, and as a guest speaker regarding international, social, expatriates, animals and women issues.
Early life abroad
Sameera Aziz was born on June 24, 1979 in Al-KhoberKhobar
Khobar is a large city located in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the Persian Gulf. It has a population of 360,000 and forms part of the greater Dammam metropolitan area along with Dhahran, which together have a combined population of over two million...
, Saudi Arabia. She was the second-oldest of three children to Aziz-ur-Rehman, a bravery award holder of Pakistan navy
Pakistan Navy
The Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
and Mehar Afroz, a Beautician from United States of America. Her parents first migrated to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and then to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and United States of America consecutively. She is the only daughter with two brothers, Faisal Aziz and Fahad Aziz. Her early education was completed abroad, in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
’s Gulistan Shah Abdul Latif School, and later at PECHS Girl’s College and the University of Karachi. She married at 16, and completed her education with the moral support of her husband, which is required by Saudi law
Women's rights in Saudi Arabia
Women's rights in Saudi Arabia are defined by Islam and tribal customs. The Arabian peninsula is the ancestral home of patriarchal, nomadic tribes, in which purdah and namus are considered central....
. Before completing her PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Trade relations, she received Masters degrees in International Relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
and Journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
.
Sameera shot into fame from her early obscure life. Born to Pakistani expatriate parents in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Sameera was orphaned at the age of 2, when her father died of heart failure. The tragedy traumatized the entire family, comprising her mother and two brothers.
Sameera’s mother was hardly 24 years of age when she became a widow. The tragedy disturbed her mother so much that she lost her mental balance for five years. This happened at a time when young Sameera and her two brothers were in dire need of care and support.
In the absence of proper care, her early childhood days and most part of her teenage life was filled with hardships and untold sufferings. But the tribulations in life never disheartened Sameera, rather taught her to face adversities with boldness.
At the nine, Sameera dabbled in writing which later in her life turned into passion. She contributed articles to magazines that apart from her school also included largely circulated Hamdard Magazine and others. Besides her studies, she supported her mother in young age by working in her beauty salon at home. As a young girl, she was very athletic and played cricket, enjoyed inline roller skating and cycling.
The turning point in her life came when at 16, she got married to a Saudi national, who offered her all support for continuation of her studies. At this stage of life through her bold and candid writings, sting operations, poetry and authoring a novel, she carved a niche in the field of journalism and became a household name in Saudi and expatriate families in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After joining the Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette is the leading English language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. and is currently available both in print and online.As of July 1, 2011, Dr Omar S. Elmershedi is the Saudi Gazette Editor-in-Chief.Managing Editor: Shams Ahsan...
daily, she became increasingly accepted and appreciated in Saudi Journalism.
Journalism career
At present, she is senior editor of the JeddahJeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
-based Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette is the leading English language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. and is currently available both in print and online.As of July 1, 2011, Dr Omar S. Elmershedi is the Saudi Gazette Editor-in-Chief.Managing Editor: Shams Ahsan...
, one of the two English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
newspapers printed in the country. Until it ceased publication in 2009, Sameera Aziz was simultaneously managing editor
Managing editor
A managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team.In the United States, a managing editor oversees and coordinates the publication's editorial activities...
of Awaz, a youth-oriented weekly Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
newspaper, published by parent company Okaz.
She formerly served as a writer for Gulf News
Gulf News
Gulf News is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates with a December 2009 BPA audited circulation of over 117,036 qualified copies...
and several other Pakistan based newspapers (during 1999). She also served as the supervising editor of the women's sections in Urdu News and Urdu Magazine, owned by Saudi Research and Marketing Group. Her columns and features are written exclusively in English and Urdu and being translated into other languages. She focuses on Saudi domestic, social, cultural, educational and expatriate’s issues as well as Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the international community. She conducted undercover sting operations - the rare genre in Saudi journalism - and became the part of bold experiments in the new progressive Saudi Journalism. She has belief in the professional, humanitarian and nurturing kind of power women exercise in the workplace.
Some of her work shows the courage, while she focused on the challenges of social and labor issues, human rights, women's rights, violence against children, and other issues of concern to the community. She became a Saudi voice while highlighting Saudi employers' issues, which were being earlier addressed in an unfair manner at English media, which was almost got handled by non-Saudi desk editors, who did not have the clear picture about the family trends and matters of Saudi society. She spoke about the ill-treatment and crimes of domestic workers in Saudi Arabia and condemned their propaganda that was being carried out against many guiltless Saudi employers.
In 2007, she was awarded title of Youth Ambassador by We The Youth, a talent promotion organization and a special souvenir was given to her by Usman Shahid, President of We The Youth and other team members / volunteers. In 2009, she was awarded Pride of the Nation award during a ceremony at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She is known as a moderate Muslim and a human rights' volunteer.
Family
She is married to Zahir Ahmed Eskander, a Saudi national from Makkah Al- MukarramahMecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, who holds an executive
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
level position at the Saudi Airlines Cargo company. She has two children, Reem Eskander and Ahmed Eskander.
Additional sources
- Saudi In Focus
- Pride of Pakistan biography
- An article on Sameera Aziz - From obscurity to fame
- Sally Buzbee, "Beyond the Veil - Female Saudi Arabian Journalists", Columbia Journalism Review, September 2001, Volume: 40 Issue: 3 Page: 22.