Razia Bondrey Bhatti: A Woman of Courage

#18

You must have heard

`GOOD DIE YOUNG`

Why is it that we lose people like Razia Bhatti at such a young age?

Ras

#temporal

Thank you very much for your useful instructions.I find them very helpful.

thanks for a wonderful article
her story is truly inspirational. she stood for honesty and fair reporting in an arena ruled by corruption. She must have spoken out against the embedded journalism that we are coerced to rely on for news. may her life influence others to follow in her footsteps.

whoa!

talk about inspiring... Reminds of revolutionaries like Mao and Che...

I actually stood up to salute her after reading this...

MY GOD!

``We can see reality yet refuse to abandon hope.”

This is what the nation needs if it wants to change its destiny....

ashfaqahmad # 4:

… sometime there are restrictions placed on us which force us not to speak our minds. Pressure from the government,threats from politicains,fear of losing advertising revenue etc.

...this is an interesting observation…it is dealing with threats --financial, physical, emotional, personal…that persons like razia bhatti and asma jahangir stand out from average persons like me or the neighborhood nafisa…they may appear weak or fragile…but they possess inner resolve and conviction with which they can face any tin pot tyrant’s or their henchmen’s best shots…

re: interviews (from a journalist’s perspective)

…here is my take…without crossing over the thin line of morality and ethics…what to ask and reveal in an interview is more of a give and take issue…most often directly resolved between the journalist and the interviewee…it is not a question of disappointment or boldness…just what you want to achieve and how you go about doing it…

…depending on the caliber of the interviewer and the interviewee the following are some common arrangements made in advance:

the interviewee may:

--insist on final version approval (very rare tho’)
--lay off off-limit subjects
--agree to discuss them off-the-record to give the necessary perspective
--supply a list of questions before the interview

the interviewer may:

--agree to the conditions or walk out
--use alternative sources to fill in the gaps
--voluntarily restrain from asking very personal questions

…in brief, the onus is on the interviewer…to report as best as s/he can…to convey and to report…

rgds,

t

#12
Thank you for your comments.

Perhaps a bit out of place here, but I would like to give you an example of how you are judged when you apply for a job in Pakistan.Having gained some qualifications in Advertising from England,when in 70s,I went for an interview at a leading advertising agency in Karachi, the MD asked me `Whom do you know in high places?` I could not understand what did he mean by that.He explained `I mean the people who could give us business`.I said `does that mean you will keep me (Account Executive) as long as the Account I bring stays with you but as soon as you lose the Account,you will sack me`.He could not give me a satisfactory answer.It is true if you are employing a salesman but the job of a good Account Executive is to `service` the Accounts an agency has not to chase them.Surprisingly, late Mr. Sadiq-ul-Khairi of Khairi Advertising was the ONLY person I met who understood that there is a subject called Advertising in which you can get qualifications too!

What can you say where people do not even know the difference between Advertiser and Advertising let alone employing a professional.

As a freelance journalist,sometime the temptations make my `Imaan` a bit `DawaN-Dol` but I always try to be honest.

Ashfaqahmad sahib, you`ve raised an good point. I think journalists have a very tough job regardless of the country in which they work. And especially so when trying to unearth truths about controversial situations. Thanks...

-lk

Thank you everyone for your comments. I am a big admirer of Razia Bhatti. The book containing the collection of her editorials is one of my treasured possessions.

It`s nice to hear from some of the people who knew or worked with Razia Bhatti. Soon, I hope to write about her in much more detail, therefore, I would love to get in contact with more people who knew her.

Shahid, sigalph235, ashfagahmad, and nazarhayatkhan please write to me at info@jazbah.org if you don`t mind me asking you some questions about Razia Bhatti. I would be grateful.

Thanks,

Laila

I had the privilege of working for Newsline with Razia and company...it was a wonderful experience working with an editor who carried her professional integrity with such pride and joy.

Romair:

...yes...and he used to work under her at one time before they got married...

..t

Don`t know too much about Razia Bhatti. But I have been reading Herald and Newsline for a long time; Newsline from its first edition. Much of my views on Pakistan are based on what is reported in these magazines. They are quite insightful and professional.

Is she Gul Hameed Bhatti`s - the sports journalist - wife.

It is so good to read something tributary and uplifting like this about a genuinely courageous person. I`d the honor of knowing Ms. Bhatti (and her husband) when I was a child and she was indeed a person who cared for people in her personal and professional life. My aunt was a friend of her from KU days and later a colleague as one of her assistant editors at Herald; it was quite a colorful bunch who ran Herald out of that ill-lit and somewhat smoky offices at DAWN. One of my fondest memories is the late Ms. Bhatti letting me sit in her office and snack on some munchies during Ramzan because I`d suddenly become hungry after spending a whole morning following(and pestering) the Herald staff around.

i had the opportunity to read a few issues of Newsline, thanks to a friend of mine who was a contributor to the magazine, and I was incredibly impressed with what I read, and what Razia Bhatti stood for, and her courage to speak out against injustice. i felt we had lost an excellent journalist and a strong voice in pakistan.
thank you laila for sharing this with us.

An interesting article by Laila Kazmi on Razia Bhatti.

We do need bold journalists like Bhatti.I must,however,say that sometime thare are restrictions placed on us which force us not to speak our minds.Pressure from the government,threats from politicains,fear of losing advertising revenue etc.

Also, at times, we have to respect the feelings of the people.For example,long ago,when I went to interview Imran Khan,who is one of the most straight forward persons I have seen, told me beforehand not to ask questions on a particular subject that was very popular at the time.I was very disappointed as I wanted to start the interview on that very subject.I have had other such experiences too where I could not be as bold as I should have been.

Ibne Insha once said `you want to interview me that means you want to praise me`.How true!!

A great person..sadly Newsline seems to be losing out nowadays to it`s competitors..