The Multicultural Center hosted Breaking Barriers: A Journalist’s Journey from Pakistan to the US with Saba Jamshed Thursday.

The event was held as part of a series to celebrate Women’s History Month. The event was open to the public with an attendance of around 20 students, faculty and staff.

Jamshed, the keynote speaker, is a graduate student from Lahore, Pakistan. She is majoring in radio and television, and said she came to Arkansas State University to pursue her passion of journalism more freely.

“I was not supposed to tell my story, because since I am from Pakistan, we are not used to getting appreciation,” Jamshed said. “I was like, ‘It’s a normal story. Nobody is even interested in it.’ But along came my uncle from Chicago, and he came all that way just to tell Dr. Hogue about my story, that I’m the first girl in my entire family in generations to go abroad for my master’s.”

Jamshed said she took an interest in journalism when she was younger, and upon completing her bachelor’s degree in Pakistan, she got a job at a media outlet in the country. But she said she felt that her job conflicted with her morals.

“It’s (Journalism) not easy in these countries, it takes a lot of effort and courage,” Jamshed said. “Either you have to speak in favor of those in power, or you can speak the truth and then you are dead.”

Jamshed said she took up podcasting during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to continue getting information to people. She said her father was her biggest supporter during this time, and would take her to cover events.

She said many of these events were dangerous. One such event was a protest that quickly turned violent. Jamshed said that her father had to drag her back to their car for their own safety.

“He just said ‘Is this what you want to do? Field reporting?’ But I said that since I’m here let me complete it,” Jamshed said. “At one point we were just running away and the police were running away. So my dad said this is not the safest path, please do something else.”

Jamshed said that she maintained her resolve to keep pursuing journalism. She continued podcasting for a while until her uncle called her from Chicago, asking her to come to America and pursue journalism.

“He says to me ‘You spent a lot of time and effort in your education and bachelor’s, then I see you doing nothing with it. If you are really passionate about it, why not pursue it as a career?’ I said it wasn’t easy to pursue, and he said I should come to America,” Jamshed said. “I said ‘Oh sure, that’s easy’ because it’s easy for him, he’s already a US citizen.”

Jamshed said it was not easy for her. She spent a very long time getting ready to apply for a visa to the United States and was even rejected at one point by the government of Pakistan. Eventually she made it to the US and began studying at A-State.

Jamshed said that one of the issues she is covering in America is Islamophobia, which is a dislike or prejudice against Muslims. Jamshed comes from a country that is over 96% Muslim. She said the idea of her being persecuted for her faith was a foreign concept to her.

“I was walking from my apartment complex towards the university,” Jamshed said. “Suddenly a car just stopped by my side and these men just started yelling at me because I was wearing a hijab. In Pakistan, when you talked about Islamophobia, we could not really take it seriously. If I choose to wear a hijab, what does that have to do with you? Why is it even a discussion? This is a big issue here.”

Jamshed said her faith has driven her to continue on her path in journalism. 

“In Islam, we must not leave a stone unturned and then we have to leave it in the hands of Allah” she said. “If this is what is best for me, then that is what he’s going to give me.”

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