Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (''née'' Damji; born 10 December 1949) is a British

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and author. A columnist for the ''

The i Paper ''The i Paper'', known as ''i'' until December 2024, is a British national newspaper published in London by Daily Mail and General Trust and distributed across the United Kingdom. It is aimed at "readers and lapsed readers" of all ages and c ...

'' and the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'', she is a commentator on immigration,

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

, and

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

issues. She was the founder of the British Muslims for Secular Democracy. She was also a patron of the

SI Leeds Literary Prize The SI Leeds Literary Prize is a biennial award founded in 2012 by Soroptimist International of Leeds (SI Leeds) – a branch of the worldwide women's organization Soroptimist International – for unpublished fiction written by Black and Asian w ...

Early life and family

Yasmin Damji was born in 1949 into the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

community in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. Her family belonged to the

Nizari Nizari Isma'ilism () are the largest segment of the Isma'ilism, Ismailis, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasise independent reasoning or ''ijtihad''; Pluralism (philosophy), pluralism— ...

Ismaili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept ...

branch of the

Shia Islam Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

ic faith, and she regards herself as a

Shia Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

. Her mother was born in East Africa and her father moved there from

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

in the 1920s. After graduating in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

from

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

in 1972, Alibhai-Brown left Uganda for Britain, along with her niece,

Farah Damji Farah Damji (born 9 October 1966), also known as Farah Dan, is a Ugandan-born British convicted criminal with multiple convictions pertaining to fraud and stalking in the United States, South Africa, and United Kingdom. In 2016, Damji was describ ...

, shortly before the expulsion of Ugandan Asians by

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

, and completed a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

degree in literature at

Linacre College Linacre College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college was founded in 1962 and is named after Thomas Linacre (1460–1524), founder of the Royal College of Physicians as well as a distinguished re ...

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, in 1975. After working as a teacher, particularly with immigrants and refugees, she moved into journalism in her mid-thirties. Alibhai-Brown is married to Colin Brown, former chairman of the Consumer Services Panel of the

Financial Services Authority The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985 ...

, whom she met in 1988. The couple have a daughter, and Alibhai-Brown has a son from a previous marriage. Alibhai-Brown describes herself as "a leftie liberal, anti-racist, feminist, Muslim. part-Pakistani...person".

Career and views

A journalist on the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' magazine in the early 1980s, Alibhai-Brown contributes a weekly column to ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. She has also written for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', and the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'', and has appeared on the current affairs TV shows ''

Dateline London ''Dateline London'' is a weekly BBC News discussion group, discussion programme. A panel discussion, panel of four leading journalists, lecturers, and foreign correspondents discussed top news stories from an international perspective. The last e ...

'' and ''

The Wright Stuff ''The Wright Stuff'' is a British television chat show which was hosted by former tabloid journalist Matthew Wright from 2000 until 2018. It aired on Channel 5 on weekday mornings from 9:15 to 11:15am. The series characterised itself as "Br ...

''. Alibhai-Brown has won awards for her journalism, including Media Personality of the Year in 2000 (awarded by the

Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy The Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy (EMMA) is a British organization that raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns and social networking. The EMMA Awards was founded in 1997 by Bobby Syed and "seeks to promote diversity withi ...

(EMMA)), the George Orwell Prize for Political Journalism in 2002, and the EMMA Award for Journalism in 2004. Alibhai-Brown was a research fellow at the

Institute for Public Policy Research The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is a Progressivism, progressive think tank based in London. It was founded in 1988 by Clive Hollick, Baron Hollick, Lord Hollick and John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, Lord Eatwell, and is an independen ...

(IPPR), a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

associated with

New Labour New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...

, from 1996 to 2001. She ended her connection with the Labour Party over the 2003 war in Iraq and other issues, and supported the Liberal Democrats in the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

general elections. She is senior research associate at the

Foreign Policy Centre The Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) is a British think tank specialising in foreign policy. It was founded in 1998 by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and his colleagues. It was launched at an event with Prime Minister Tony Blair, with the aim of develop ...

, an honorary fellow at

Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This ...

, and honorary visiting professor at

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

Universities. In the New Year Honours 2001, Alibhai-Brown was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) "for services to journalism". In 2003,

Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. Over his lifetime, he was awarded 20 honorary doctorates in recognition of his c ...

's public refusal of an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

inspired her to return the award. She wrote that her decision had been made partly in a growing spirit of republicanism and partly in protest at the Labour government, particularly its conduct of the war in Iraq, and she has since criticised the

British honours system In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, personal bravery, achievement, or service are rewarded with honours. The honours system consists of three types of award: *Honours are used to recognise merit in terms of achievement a ...

as "beyond repair". In 2005, she performed her autobiographical one-woman show ''Tales of an Extravagant Stranger'' at the

Soho Theatre Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...

, under the auspices of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

. In 2006 the charity, British Muslims for Secular Democracy, was formed. The writer Imran Ahmad, who was another early committee member, cites Alibhai-Brown as the organisation's founder. In May 2011, Alibhai-Brown wrote in ''The Independent'' that Muslims and others should stop focusing solely on the wrongdoings of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, saying: "We Muslims need to accept our burdens too." She also said: "It is no longer morally justifiable for activists to target only Israel and either ignore or find excuses for corrupt, murderous Arab despots. That kind of selectivity discredits pro-Palestinian campaigners and dishonours the principles of equality and human rights." Brown previously condemned ethnic minority campaigners against racism failing to mention white victims of racially motivated crimes, suggesting they were guilty of

double standards A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...

. Highlighting cases such as the

murder of Ross Parker Ross Andrew Parker (19 August 198421 September 2001), from Peterborough, England, was a seventeen-year-old white English male murdered in an unprovoked racially motivated crime. He bled to death after being stabbed, beaten with a hammer a ...

, Alibhai-Brown wrote: "Our values are worthless unless all victims of these senseless deaths matter equally", adding "to treat some victims as more worthy of condemnation than others is unforgivable and a betrayal of

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

itself". In May 2012, Alibhai-Brown received an anonymous three-page letter alleging that while the sender was a schoolgirl in the 1970s she (the anonymous sender) had been sexually abused by veteran BBC presenter Stuart Hall. After Alibhai-Brown passed the letter to police, an investigation was initiated, culminating in Hall being arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual assault. On 16 April 2013, Hall pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting 13 girls, aged from nine to 17, during the period 1967–86. The police credited Alibhai-Brown's actions as instrumental in triggering an investigation into Hall's past. In 2016, Alibhai-Brown won the Columnist of the Year Broadsheet at the

British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named Ha ...

. In 2017, she received the "Outstanding Contribution to Media Award" at the Asian Media Awards, presented by

Sarfraz Manzoor Sarfraz Manzoor (; born 9 June 1971) is a British journalist, documentary maker, broadcaster, and screenwriter of Pakistani origin. He is a regular contributor to ''The Guardian'', presenter of documentaries on BBC Radio 4, and a cultural commen ...

. She was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

in 2022.

Criticism

Alibhai-Brown has attracted criticism for her views.

Michael Wharton Michael Wharton (19 April 1913 – 23 January 2006) was a British newspaper columnist who wrote under the pseudonym Peter Simple in the British ''Daily Telegraph''. He began work on the "Way of the World" column with illustrator Michael ffolk ...

has accused her of an excessive pursuit of

political correctness "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...

: "At 3.6 degrees on the Alibhai-Brown scale, it sets off a shrill scream that will not stop until you’ve pulled yourself together with a well-chosen anti-racist slogan."

Stephen Pollard Stephen Pollard (born 18 December 1964) is a British author and journalist. From 2008 until December 2021, he was the editor of ''The Jewish Chronicle'' and remains a senior advisor and writer on the paper. Early life Pollard had what he calls ...

accused her of racism and called her opinions "utterly vile" in ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

'' in June 2008. In October 2009,

Luciana Berger Luciana Clare Berger, Baroness Berger (; born 13 May 1981) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree from 2010 to 2019, and a Member of the House of Lords since 2025 ...

, MP and then director of

Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that advocates a strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party (UK), Labour ...

(LFI), criticised Alibhai-Brown for writing in her column: "All three parties were lavishly entertained by the over-influential Friends of Israel." Berger said that Alibhai-Brown had not attended the LFI event or provided any evidence to sustain her comment. Berger insisted the hospitality ("house wine or orange juice and chips. Crisps and peanuts if you got to a bowl in time") was not lavish.

Select bibliography

* ''The Colour of Love: Mixed Race Relationships'' (with Anne Montague) (1992). London:

Virago A virago is a woman who demonstrates abundant masculine virtues. The word comes from the Latin word ''virāgō'' (genitive virāginis) meaning "vigorous maiden" from ''vir'' meaning "man" or "man-like" (cf. virile and virtue) to which the suffi ...

. * ''Racism (Points of View)'', (with Colin Brown) (1992). Hodder Wayland. * ''No Place Like Home'' (1995). London:

. * ''True Colours'' (1999). London:

. * ''Who Do We Think We Are? Imagining the New Britain'' (2000). London:

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

. * ''After Multiculturalism'' (2000). London:

. * ''Mixed Feelings: The Complex Lives of Mixed Race Britons'' (2001). London:

Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, The Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cofo ...

. * ''Some of My Best Friends Are...'' (2004). London:

Politico's Methuen Publishing Ltd (; also known as Methuen Books) is an English publishing house. It was founded in 1889 by Sir Algernon Methuen (1856–1924) and began publishing in London in 1892. Initially, Methuen mainly published non-fiction academ ...

. * ''The Settler’s Cookbook: A Memoir of Love, Migration and Food'' (2008).

Portobello Books ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

. New edition (2010)

Granta Books ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

. * ''Refusing the Veil'' (2014).

Biteback Publishing Biteback Publishing is a British publisher based in Hull, and concentrating mainly on political titles. It was incorporated, as a private limited company with share capital, in 2009. It was jointly owned by its managing director Iain Dale and ...

. * ''Exotic England; The Making of a curious Nation'' (2015). Portobello Books. * ''In Defence of Political Correctness'' (2018). Biteback Publishing. * ''Ladies Who Punch: Fifty trailblazing women whose stories you should know'' (2020). Biteback Publishing.

References

External links

Columns
at ''

''
Column archive
at ''

''
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
at ''

''
Published articles
at

Journalisted The Media Standards Trust is a British media think tank formed in 2006. It carries out research on issues in the media sector. It also advocates for press freedom as well as industry quality, transparency and accountability. It is a registered cha ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alibhai-Brown, Yasmin 1949 births Living people Alumni of Linacre College, Oxford British Asian writers British columnists British feminist writers British Ismailis British newspaper journalists British people of Indian descent British people of Indo-Ugandan descent British republicans British women columnists British women journalists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature The i Paper journalists Khoja Ismailis London Evening Standard people Makerere University alumni Members of the Order of the British Empire Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom People from Kampala The Independent people Ugandan emigrants to the United Kingdom Ugandan feminists Ugandan Ismailis Ugandan people of Indian descent Ugandan women columnists Ugandan columnists Ugandan refugees