Yasmin Alibhai-Brown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
FRSL
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Alibhai-Brown in 2016
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| Born |
Yasmin Damji
10 December 1949 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Makerere University; Linacre College, University of Oxford |
| Occupation | Journalist, author |
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Notable credit(s)
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Independent, Evening Standard, The i Paper columnist |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Farah Damji (niece) |
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is a British journalist and author. She was born Yasmin Damji on December 10, 1949. She writes columns for The i Paper and the Evening Standard. Yasmin is known for sharing her thoughts on topics like immigration, different cultures living together, and how diverse societies work.
She also started a group called British Muslims for Secular Democracy. This group helps Muslims who believe in a government separate from religion. She was also a supporter of the SI Leeds Literary Prize, which helps women writers.
Early Life and Family Background
Yasmin Damji was born in 1949 in Kampala, Uganda. Her family was part of the Indian community living in Uganda. They followed a branch of the Muslim faith called Shia Islam. Her mother was born in East Africa, and her father moved there from British India in the 1920s.
After finishing her English literature degree at Makerere University in 1972, Yasmin moved to Britain. She left Uganda with her niece, Farah Damji, just before many Asians were asked to leave Uganda by Idi Amin. In 1975, she earned another degree in literature from Linacre College at the University of Oxford.
Yasmin first worked as a teacher, especially helping immigrants and refugees. In her mid-thirties, she started her career in journalism.
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is married to Colin Brown. They met in 1988. They have a daughter together. Yasmin also has a son from an earlier marriage. She describes herself as a "leftie liberal, anti-racist, feminist, Muslim, part-Pakistani person." This means she believes in fairness, fighting against racism, equal rights for women, and is proud of her Muslim and Pakistani heritage.
Career and Important Views
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown started as a journalist at the New Statesman magazine in the early 1980s. She writes a weekly column for The Independent. She has also written for many other well-known newspapers and magazines. These include The Guardian, The Observer, The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, and the Daily Mail. She has also appeared on TV shows like Dateline London.
Yasmin has won several awards for her journalism. She was named Media Personality of the Year in 2000. In 2002, she won the George Orwell Prize for Political Journalism. She also received an EMMA Award for Journalism in 2004.
From 1996 to 2001, Yasmin was a researcher at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). This is a "think tank," which is a group that does research and suggests ideas for government policies. She stopped supporting the Labour Party because she disagreed with them on certain issues, like the war in Iraq in 2003. She then supported the Liberal Democrats in the 2005 and 2010 general elections.
She is also a senior research associate at the Foreign Policy Centre. She is an honorary fellow at Liverpool John Moores University. She is also 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) for her work in journalism. However, in 2003, she decided to return the award. She explained that she did this because she believed in a different kind of government. She also wanted to protest against the Labour government's actions, especially regarding the war in Iraq. She has since said that the British honours system needs to be fixed.
In 2005, she performed her own show called Tales of an Extravagant Stranger. It was shown at the Soho Theatre with help from the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2006, the charity British Muslims for Secular Democracy was created. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is known as the founder of this organization.
In May 2011, Yasmin wrote in The Independent that Muslims should also look at problems within their own communities. She said that it's not fair to only criticize Israel while ignoring or excusing bad actions by leaders in Arab countries. She believes that all victims of unfairness should be treated equally.
In 2016, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown won the Columnist of the Year award at the British Press Awards. In 2017, she received the "Outstanding Contribution to Media Award" at the Asian Media Awards.
In 2022, she was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. This is a special honor for writers.
See also
In Spanish: Yasmin Alibhai-Brown para niños
