| Shaista Aziz | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 (age 33–34) Oxford, United Kingdom |
| Residence | Manchester, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | Pakistani |
| Education | BA English Literature and Women’s Studies |
| Occupation | Journalist, writer and stand-up comedian |
| Religion | Islam |
| Website | |
| http://twitter.com/#!/shaistaaziz | |
Shaista Aziz (Urdu: شائستہ قوال; born 1978) is a British journalist, writer, stand-up comedian, and former international aid worker.
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Shaista Aziz was born and raised in Oxford, United Kingdom.[1] She studied BA in English Literature and Women’s Studies at university.[2]
Her father arrived in Great Britain from Kashmir, Pakistan, when he was 16 years old.[3] She is the only daughter of her parents.[4]
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 written for New Internationalist magazine. As well as media specialist for Oxfam,[6]Amnesty International, Save the Children and Islamic Relief.[2] 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] She is a commentator on international current affairs, and writes for The Guardian newspaper,[8] is a regular panel guest on BBC Radio,[9] has appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4’s Woman's Hour,[10] written a series of scripts for BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought,[11][12][13][14] and appeared on Channel 4’s 4.Thought TV.[15]
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]
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.[18] In September 2010, she reached the semi-finals of the Funny Women competition.[7]
In 2007, Aziz married an Iraqi trauma and orthopedic surgeon in a nikah ceremony in Jordan.[4] In March 2010, she and her husband left London and moved to Manchester.[1]