Peshawar Press Club elects its first woman VP

PESHAWAR: Even as a report filed by the World Economic Forum paints a dismal picture of the condition of women in Pakistan, the country’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa may have provided a silver lining by electing a journalist as the Peshawar Press Club’s first woman vice president.
Aneela Shaheen, 38, and a mother of a daughter was crowned with the title after she won the elections on December 29 in Peshawar.
Shaheen, a Sarhad University graduate with majors in Health and Physical Education, began her career as a journalist in 2000 by working for an Urdu-language newspaper, Daily Subh, before moving on to an electronic media platform by becoming a part of Indus and Dunya Television networks.
“Indeed it is an honor and trust upon me but it also needs determination and courage to work with male colleagues particularly in a Pashtun, male-dominated society,” an ecstatic Shaheen told Arab News.
In the 18 years of being a journalist, Shaheen says she has covered all beats except those related to women’s issues. “Since the beginning of my career, I wanted to change the myth about women being weak,” she said. “I worked on [the topic of ] Swat militancy for few months for my organization and broke the stereotypes,” she added.
Shaheen currently works as a freelance journalist, with her last stint being with 24 Television, a media organization. The past year has been grim for the Pakistani media industry with several organizations reducing their headcount as part of cost-cutting measures. However, when 24 Television’s administration decided to sack Shaheen, she chose to resign from her position instead and took to social media to protest against the move.
“Journalism is no more an easy profession and journalists have to fight on many fronts,” she said.
“I, along with my press club colleagues, will formulate an acceptable way for journalists’ job and physical security in this war-torn region,” Shaheen said, adding that “now, we will not allow the owners to sack the media workers with a single verbal order”.
She will work side by side with Syed Bukhar Shah — the newly-elected president of the club.
Shah, a veteran journalist writes for The News International in Peshawar. “Peshawar Press Club members are politically aware and they have the vision and always follow merit,” he told Arab News.
“Aneela is one of the brave journalists among many and that’s why she has beaten her male colleagues,” he said, adding that among the 500 club members, “we have only 30 female members but the Peshawar Press Club appreciates and encourages women journalists”.
“Earning a name in journalism in this part of the world is very hard but without welcoming colleagues, it wasn’t possible for me to stand strong,” Shaheen said.
Founded in 1964, the Peshawar Press Club takes pride in its strive for democracy and freedom of speech. In 2009, a suicide bomber with explosives strapped to his body had tried to bomb the building but was stopped by a security guard. The attack claimed four lives and had damaged the facility too.

Peshawar Press Club elects its first woman VP