Professional envy

Reporters on the Job: As soon as I walked into the studio of Radio Khyber in Peshawar, Pakistan, (read the Monitor's report on the radio station here) the station’s three female reporters accosted me.

“Where are you from? Do you travel much? Have you ever seen a bomb blast? A dead body?” I soon realized that what initially came off as professional insecurity was actually an expression of thwarted ambitions.

After all, these women are working at a media outlet despite their family’s disapproval. They are working in areas where they cannot travel without a male escort. They seek interviews with government officials who first check if they have their fathers’ permission to speak with men who aren’t close relatives.

All they want to do is cover militant activities and military operations in the tribal areas like their male counterparts. And, of course, see a bomb blast.