Yasmin Alibhai-Brown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
FRSL
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Alibhai-Brown in 2016
|
|
| Born |
Yasmin Damji
10 December 1949 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Makerere University; Linacre College, University of Oxford |
| Occupation | Journalist, author |
|
Notable credit(s)
|
Independent and Evening Standard columnist |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Farah Damji (niece) |
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (born 10 December 1949) is a British journalist and author. She writes columns for the i newspaper and the Evening Standard. She often shares her thoughts on topics like immigration, diversity, and multiculturalism.
She helped start a group called British Muslims for Secular Democracy. She also supported the SI Leeds Literary Prize, which is an award for writers.
Early Life and Education
Yasmin Damji was born in 1949 in Kampala, Uganda. Her family was part of the Indian community there. They followed the Nizari Ismaili branch of the Shia Muslim faith. Yasmin also considers herself a Shia Muslim.
Her mother was born in East Africa. Her father moved there from British India in the 1920s.
After studying English literature at Makerere University in 1972, Yasmin moved to Britain. This was just before many Asians were asked to leave Uganda by Idi Amin. She continued her studies at Linacre College, part of the University of Oxford. She earned a Master of Philosophy degree in literature in 1975.
Yasmin first worked as a teacher, helping immigrants and refugees. In her mid-thirties, she started her career in journalism. She is married to Colin Brown. They have a daughter, and Yasmin also has a son from an earlier marriage.
Career and Views
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown began her journalism career at the New Statesman magazine in the early 1980s. She now writes a weekly column for The Independent newspaper. She has also written for many other well-known publications. These include The Guardian, The New York Times, and Time magazine.
She has appeared on TV shows like Dateline London. Yasmin has won several awards for her journalism. In 2000, she was named Media Personality of the Year. She also won the George Orwell Prize for Political Journalism in 2002.
From 1996 to 2001, Alibhai-Brown was a research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). This is a "think tank" that does research and suggests ideas. She stopped supporting the Labour Party because of the 2003 war in Iraq. She later supported the Liberal Democrats in the 2005 and 2010 elections.
She is now a senior research associate at the Foreign Policy Centre. She is also an honorary fellow at Liverpool John Moores University. She is an honorary visiting professor at Cardiff and Lincoln Universities.
In 2001, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown was given an award called a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). This was for her work in journalism. However, in 2003, she decided to return the award. She explained that she disagreed with the government's actions, especially the war in Iraq. She also felt that the British honours system needed to be changed.
In 2005, she performed her own show called Tales of an Extravagant Stranger. It was shown at the Soho Theatre. In 2006, she helped create the charity British Muslims for Secular Democracy.
In 2011, Alibhai-Brown wrote that people, especially Muslims, should not only focus on problems caused by Israel. She said that Muslims also need to take responsibility for their own issues. She believes that activists should not ignore bad actions by Arab leaders. She also said that it is wrong to only talk about racism against certain groups. She believes all victims of hate crimes should be treated equally.
In 2016, Alibhai-Brown won the Columnist of the Year award. In 2017, she received an "Outstanding Contribution to Media Award." In 2022, she was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Images for kids
-
Alibhai-Brown in 2016
See also
In Spanish: Yasmin Alibhai-Brown para niños
