For years, as Kiran Nazish worked as a journalist in conflict zones around the world, she watched the female reporters around her struggling against the odds to build their careers, get support and stay safe.
In Mexico, female journalists told Nazish that they had been blackmailed by their bosses to cooperate sexually or face demotion. While working on the frontline in conflict zones Nazish was asked by male colleagues: “Why are you here? Go back to Pakistan.”
When Nazish collapsed and was hospitalised after covering the rise of Islamic State in Iraq in 2015, she knew she had to do something about it.
“I realised that I had had a great career, with support, and if I was there on my deathbed, what was it like for women who did not have the same opportunities?” she says.
So in 2017, after she had recovered, Nazish launched a mentorship scheme for female journalists and the Coalition for Women in Journalism (CFWIJ) was born.