Randa Abd Al-Aziz (Arabic: رندا عبد العزيز; born c. 1996) is an Iraqi journalist and news anchor. She is the first Afro-Iraqi to feature on the country's state media channels, and since September 2021 has co-hosted the news for Al Iraqiya.

Early life

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Al-Aziz grew up in a middle-class family in Baghdad; her father was a businessman while her mother owned a stationery shop.[1] Al-Aziz went on to obtain a degree in Agricultural Economics and work for an import distribution business prior to her becoming a journalist.[2]

Journalism career

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Al-Aziz was scouted as a news anchor while at a café in Baghdad where she was overheard reading from a pamphlet in Classical Arabic, the language used by news anchors in Iraq.[3] After being scouted, she trained for 6 months, including lessons on voice and language, and studies into Iraqi national and local politics.[1][4] Al-Aziz's hiring was part of an effort by the Iraqi Media Network's president, Nabil Jasim, to make the organisation be more reflective of Iraqi society; there are an estimated 1.5 million Afro-Iraqis in the country.[2]

Al-Aziz's hiring caused some controversy, including among producers within the Iraqi Media Network; she was first Afro-Iraqi to be hired since Al Iraqiya's creation in 2003; while records are unavailable, it is also believed that no Afro-Iraqi held any prominent journalism roles during the regime of Saddam Hussein.[3] Al-Aziz made her début as a news anchor for Iraqiya TV in September 2020. She has stated hoping that she can demonstrate to other Black Iraqis that "the colour of our skin will not stop us".[1]

Al-Aziz has named the French-Lebanese journalist Randa Habib and the Algerian journalist Khadija Benguenna as among her inspirations, in addition to Radio Monte Carlo and the BBC.[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Arraf, Jane (4 February 2022). "A Black Iraqi's Sudden Career in TV News: 'They Wanted to See All Colors'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  2. ^ a b "عراقية "سمراء" تصل إلى شاشة التلفزيون الحكومي بطريقة مفاجئة | الحرة". Alhurra (in Arabic). 4 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  3. ^ a b ""سمراء" بشاشة تلفزيون العراق الحكومي للمرة الأولى منذ عقود". Arabi 21 (in Arabic). 5 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  4. ^ "رندا عبد العزيز: الأداء الملتزم لفت النظر الى موهبتي". Iraqi News Agency (in Arabic). 7 May 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  5. ^ "رندا عبد العزيز: الأداء الملتزم لفت النظر إلى موهبتي". Al Sabaah (in Arabic). 11 May 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  6. ^ Sumaisem, Ahmed (31 May 2021). "رندا عبد العزيز: أهلي أول الرافضين لظهوري على الشاشة". IMN. Retrieved 6 February 2022.