Indian journalist Teresa Rehman, who attended an HIV/Aids workshop in Kenya, has given the Assam Tribune a revealing account of her work covering her country’s violent northeast region.
In a role-reversal, she was interviewed about how she manages to combine life as a wife and mother with witnessing and reporting on violence in one of the world’s worst ongoiing hot-spots.
Rehman, who has won a number of major awards working for some of India’s leading newspapers, is now freelance and but still covering headline stories for major media, ranging from rebel uprisings to TB epidemics. She says her work can be traumatic, and family support has a major role.
In a male-dominated profession, she says, women reporters “are more sensitive and empathise better with victims” of conflict or disaster situations. Women journalists are also more resilient when working in adverse conditions.
Humility is a good asset for a reporter, she says – to be ready to travel, eat and live among the poor and downtrodden helps a journalist to shed prejudice and find objectivity.
As for her HIV/Aids course in Nairobi, she says it made her realise “that I had so much to learn.”
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