Randa Abd Al-Aziz (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: 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 Al Iraqiya () is an Iraqi satellite and terrestrial public broadcaster and television network. The channel is part of the larger Iraqi Media Network, and was set up after the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the ousting of Saddam Hussein. It is primar ...

Early life

Al-Aziz grew up in a middle-class family in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

; her father was a businessman while her mother owned a stationery shop. Al-Aziz went on to obtain a degree in Agricultural Economics and work for an import distribution business prior to her becoming a journalist.

Journalism career

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 Classical Arabic or Quranic Arabic () is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notably in Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid literary texts such as poetry, e ...

, the language used by news anchors in Iraq. After being scouted, she trained for 6 months, including lessons on voice and language, and studies into Iraqi national and local politics. Al-Aziz's hiring was part of an effort by the

Iraqi Media Network Al Iraqiya () is an Iraqi satellite and terrestrial public broadcaster and television network. The channel is part of the larger Iraqi Media Network, and was set up after the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the ousting of Saddam Hussein. It is primar ...

'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. 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 Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

. 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". Al-Aziz has named the French- Lebanese journalist

Randa Habib Randa Habib is a French journalist of Lebanese origin, who as director of the Amman, Jordan, bureau of Agence France-Presse (AFP), one of the three global news agencies, since 1987, has spent 25 years covering war, politics and economic developme ...

and the Algerian journalist Khadija Benguenna as among her inspirations, in addition to

Radio Monte Carlo Radio Monte Carlo (RMC) is the name of radio stations owned and managed by several different entities: Stations Radio Monte Carlo is considered one of the most popular networks especially in non-European Italian and French-speaking regions for it ...

and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aziz, Randa Abd Iraqi journalists 1996 births Living people