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Shaista Aziz

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Shaista Aziz
شائستہ قوال
Born1978 (age 45–46)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
EducationBA English literature and women's studies
Occupation(s)Journalist, writer, stand-up comedian, politician
Political party

Shaista Aziz (Urdu: شائستہ قوال; born 1978) is an English journalist, writer, stand-up comedian, politician, councillor for Rose Hill and Iffley in Oxford City Council, and former international aid worker of Kashmiri-Pakistani descent.

Early life

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Aziz's father arrived in Britain from Kashmir, Pakistan, at the age of 16 in the early 1950s.[1] She is her parents' only daughter with two younger brothers.[2] Aziz was born and brought up in Oxford,[3] and read for a BA degree in English literature and Women's studies at university.[4]

Journalism career

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Aziz has worked as a newsroom journalist for Al Jazeera's English news website in Doha, Qatar,[5] a broadcast journalist and producer for the BBC and has written for New Internationalist magazine. As well as media specialist for Oxfam,[6] Amnesty International, Save the Children and Islamic Relief.[4] She has travelled and worked all over the world from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen to Haiti, Tajikistan, Burma, Russia, Pakistan and Indonesia.[7]

Aziz writes for The Guardian newspaper,[8] and is a regular panel guest on BBC Radio.[9] In January and February 2011, she wrote a series of scripts for BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought,[10][11][12][13]

In March 2015, Aziz presented the BBC Three documentary A Nation Divided? The Charlie Hebdo Aftermath, in which she visited France to find out why the country has become so divided, with young Muslims feeling alienated from mainstream society since the Charlie Hebdo shooting.[14][15]

Stand-up career

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Aziz has performed stand up across the UK, including at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the Laughing Cows in August 2010, the Hong Kong International Comedy Festival[16] and the Global Peace and Unity Event in October 2010.[17]

Political career

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Aziz was the Constituency Labour Party Women's Officer for Oxford East Labour Party. In May 2018, in the Oxford City Council election, she was elected as councillor for the Rose Hill and Iffley ward.[18][19]

Aziz is also a member of the Stop Trump coalition, a coalition of organisations and individuals protesting against U.S. President Donald Trump's planned state visit to the UK.[20][21]

On 13 October 2023, 6 days after the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel in which over 1,000 Israelis were killed by Hamas fighters, Aziz made national headlines when she resigned from the Labour Party in protest at comments made by Keir Starmer on a radio show, in which he endorsed Israel's right to cut off energy and water from Palestinians in Gaza.[22] Starmer subsequently clarified those comments.[23] Councillor Amar Latif resigned the party at the same time as Aziz[22] and 6 other Labour councillors followed within a week, causing the party to lose control of Oxford City Council.[24]

Petition to ban racists from football matches

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In the aftermath of racist abuse targeted at England players at the UEFA Euro 2020 Final, an online petition calling for racists to be banned from all football matches in England partially organised by Aziz was signed by over a million people.[25][26] Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Football Banning Orders would be amended to ensure that people guilty of online racist abuse would be banned from football matches.[27][28]


Awards, nominations and recognition

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In 2006, Aziz was elected to the National Union of Journalists Black Members Council.[6]

In May 2010, she reached the final of the Liverpool Comedy Festival Best Newcomer Awards[7] and won the "King Gong" open mic competition at the Manchester Comedy Store.[29] In September 2010, she reached the semi-finals of the Funny Women competition.[7]

Personal life

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Aziz is a Muslim.

References

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  1. ^ "Pause for Thought from Shaista Aziz". BBC Radio 2. 15 September 2011. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
  2. ^ "A Night of Piece & Laughter". Piece Initiative. 15 January 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ "Pause for Thought from Shaista Aziz". BBC Radio 2. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  4. ^ a b "The League of Extraordinary Women". emel. August 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  5. ^ Kiss, Jemima (2 January 2004). "Al-Jazeera sacks another English journalist — Outspoken union member and ex-BBC journalist dismissed". Journalism.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Muslim Communities in Europe: Britain". Sala@m. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  7. ^ a b c "Shaista Aziz". Cheryl Hayes Management. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  8. ^ Aziz, Shaista (20 July 2010). "Profile". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  9. ^ "Shaista Aziz". Comedy CV. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  10. ^ "Pause for Thought from Shaista Aziz". BBC Radio 2. 12 January 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  11. ^ "Pause for Thought from Shaista Azi". BBC Radio 2. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  12. ^ "Pause for Thought from Shaista Aziz". BBC Radio 2. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  13. ^ "Pause for Thought from Shaista Aziz". BBC Radio 2. 9 February 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  14. ^ Sweeting, Adam (31 March 2015). "A Nation Divided? The Charlie Hebdo Aftermath, BBC Three". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  15. ^ Aziz, Shaista (30 March 2015). "Paris Muslims struggle to feel accepted". BBC News. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Shaista Aziz Comedy Success". 1st witness. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  17. ^ "Artists & Performers". Global Peace and Unity Event 2010. October 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  18. ^ Riley, Hannah (20 March 2018). "Rose Hill and Iffley". Oxford Labour Party. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Labour tighten grip on Oxford City Council". The Herald. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  20. ^ Miller, Nick (27 April 2018). "Trump confirms Friday 13th UK visit, to protesters' horror". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  21. ^ Coulter, Martin (26 April 2018). "Protesters to greet Donald Trump with 'Carnival of Resistance' during US President's July visit to UK". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  22. ^ a b "Labour Oxford councillors quit over Starmer comments on Israel Gaza war". BBC News Online. 14 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  23. ^ "Sir Keir Starmer seeks to clarify Gaza remarks following backlash from Labour councillors". Sky News. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  24. ^ Oxford City Council councillors (20 October 2023). "Labour Loses Oxford City Council Over Gaza". Tribune. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  25. ^ "Bronwen Lewis, Football Racists Ban and 'The Three Hijabis', Pregnancy & the Covid Vaccine, Escape-Escapee". Woman's Hour. BBC Radio 4. 16 July 2021.
  26. ^ Clayton, Indya (13 July 2021). "Councillor Shaista Aziz's petition to ban racists from football matches for life goes viral". Oxford Mail.
  27. ^ "Online racists face football ban of up to 10 years, vows Boris Johnson". BBC News Online. 14 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Football banning orders to include online racist abuse – Boris Johnson". Press Association. 14 July 2021 – via BT.com.
  29. ^ Video on YouTube
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