Maha Nazih Al-Hussaini is a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

journalist, human rights activist, director of strategies at the

Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (commonly known as Euro-Med Monitor and sometimes as Euro-Med HRM) is an independent, nonprofit organization for the protection of human rights. Richard Falk, the former United Nations Special Rapporteu ...

in Geneva, Switzerland, and a member of the Marie Colvin Network of Women Journalists. She is a based in

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

. She started her journalism career by covering Israel's military campaign on the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

in July 2014.

Early life and education

In 2013, Al-Hussaini obtained her Bachelor's degree in English and French Literature from

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

, and later graduated with a Master's degree in

Political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from Al-Azhar University (2018).

Career

Al-Hussaini has worked as a reporter in conflict zones, notably writing about human rights violations in the

Occupied Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupi ...

.writes for international newspapers, most notably "

Middle East Eye ''Middle East Eye'' (MEE) is a United Kingdom-based media website and channel that primarily focuses on news related to the Middle East, North Africa, and the broader Muslim world. The ownership of the organisation is undisclosed. Some sources ...

", "The New Humanitarian" and "Rory Peck". Until 2019, she held the position of executive director of the

's Regional Office in the Palestinian Territories. From 2019 to 2021, she worked as executive director of Impact International for International Policies, based in London. In 2021, she returned to work at the Euro-Mediterranean Monitor as strategic director of the organization. As part of her work with the Euro-Mediterranean Monitor, she organises the organisation participation in the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...

. She has also served as a media contact for the organisation, being interviewed by multiple news channels and newspapers, including

Al-Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pr ...

, Al-Arabi TV,

Anadolu Agency Anadolu Agency (, ; abbreviated AA) is a state-run news agency headquartered in Ankara, Turkey. History The Anadolu Agency was founded in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence by the order of Mustafa Kemal Pasha. As the Empire's capital � ...

, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, and Kufia TV.

Awards and recognition

In 2020, Al-Hussaini won the Martin Adler Prize for her work as a freelance journalist. In June 2024, she was awarded the

International Women's Media Foundation The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical so ...

(IWMF)

Courage in Journalism Award The International Women's Media Foundation awards are annual prizes for women journalists awarded by the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) since its foundation in 1990: the Courage in Journalism Award (awarded since 1990); the Lifetime ...

. However, after the conservative

Washington Free Beacon ''The Washington Free Beacon'' is an American political journalism website launched in 2012. The website identifies as conservative. Eliana Johnson is the website's editor-in-chief. The ''Free Beacon'' has broken stories about states using ra ...

published an article claiming that Al-Haissani had made Tweets supporting Hamas' attacks on Israel on Oct 7, 2023 and had shared a cartoon from Iran's

International Holocaust Cartoon Competition International Holocaust Cartoon Contest was a 2006 cartoon competition, sponsored by the Iranian newspaper ''Hamshahri'', to denounce what it called Western "double standards on freedom of speech". The event was staged in response to the ''Jylla ...

, the IWMF announced it had revoked her award, stating that it had "learned of comments made by Maha Hussaini in past years that contradict the values of our organization.

Published works

Hussaini has published several reports and articles, most notably: *Middle East Eye – "The girl who showed the world the suffering of Gaza's children" *The New Humanitarian – "One year on from Israel’s bombardment, Gazans still await help to rebuild" *Al Jazeera, Al-Jazeera – "Disabled or dead... some victims of Israeli raids on Gaza will not return to school" *Impact International – "Beirut explosion: the path to disaster"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussaini, Maha Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Palestinian journalists Palestinian human rights activists Palestinian women activists Palestinian women journalists Women human rights activists

Early life and education

Career

Awards and recognition

Published works

See Also

References