Rabia Mehmood talks fast. Her words are filled with insight. As a reporter for the English-language TV station Express 24/7 in Lahore, Pakistan, such enthusiasm is essential, given the many stories she covers as a city and court reporter.
"Reporting is a complete way of life. Something is happening all the time, especially in these times. It's not like you can go and do your eight hour shift. There is no such thing – especially in TV."
Mehmood is the recipient of the International Women's Media Foundation's 2010-11 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship. As part of the nine-month fellowship, Mehmood will act as a research associate in residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for International Studies, and will have access to the New York Times and Boston Globe.
"[At first,] I was slightly intimidated, because the previous fellows, they had these amazing experiences," she said. "[But] it's interesting, because it comes at a time when I wanted to work on my craft. Not craft in terms of going to journalism school and learning the basics of reporting – what I hope to achieve is to understand issues better, and [get some] academic interactions, and research, [so I can] understand issues better, and it will help me with the treatment of various stories when I come back."
Mehmoud graduated from Lahore College for Women University with a bachelor's degree in English literature. She went on to earn a master's degree in mass communication and media studies from Kinnaird College for Women in Lahore, but she never expected to become a journalist.
"I basically started working in TV through talk shows on politics and society. I never actually knew I would end up in TV, because when I was starting with media and journalism in college, I was writing and freelancing, but I thought I would end up in the development sector. I was more inclined toward social change."
Mehmood won an internship with a major television network, Geo TV. However, she quickly grew restless in her role. She began working for the private Urdu-language station Express TV, focusing on feature reporting. She eventually moved on to the channel's new English sister station, Express 24/7.
"They asked me what I wanted to do. They asked me if I wanted to work in the newsroom. And I realized that fieldwork is something that I couldn't leave. I felt that if one wants to learn journalism – really, really learn it -- one has to start from reporting. I couldn't leave the field. I couldn't sit at a desk."
Her timing was perfect. In early 2009, lawyers and civilians civil stepped up their campaign to demand an independent judiciary and the reinstatement of the chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court, who'd been fired under dubious circumstances by former president and military strongman General Pervez Musharraf.
There are other subjects that have kept her occupied - terrorism, power shortages, women's issues, protests. Her work often straddles the line between straight reportage and advocacy.
"One tends to get affected," she said. "I want to do a lot of stories that are based on human interest. This is what we do. [In Pakistan,] activism and journalism do overlap – especially if you've had military dictatorships, or you're going through something like terrorism on a regular basis. It goes side by side."
Although there are a number of private media outlets in Pakistan, government restrictions at times stymie reporters. After a terrorist bombing in March, a number of civilians died while awaiting treatment in a military hospital in Lahore. The government prevented outright criticism of the hospital – something that might not have happened had it been a civilian one.
"Since it was a military hospital, we couldn't say [certain] things. So censorship, even in a democratic government, is there. There are a lot of things that one wants to do and one cannot. There are small things that stop you, but we still try our best not to leave a story altogether."
Being a woman can sometimes be an obstacle. Once, she was not allowed to join her male counterparts in a section of a mosque where women were prohibited. Other times, however, it's simply a matter of trying to infiltrate the boy's club.
"If you're reporting on terrorists, for example, and there's an attack, and you're covering the aftermath, police officials might look at a woman and be like, ‘Okay… They wouldn't take you as seriously as the beat guys. They're usually in the habit of interacting with male crime reporters."
But there are times when her gender allows greater access to other segments of the population.
"It has an upside as well," she said. "A lot of people in our society will look at a woman reporter and will give you access because you are a women. It's easier for us to go and cover some stories. In a lot of working-class communities, one has better access to stories because one is a woman."
Getting a broader perspective on the issues and how to cover them is one of the major reasons why Mehmood is so excited for her fellowship experience.
"It will be great to see how journalists in other parts of the world and in completely different environments, are working – getting their information, getting their stories, and presenting them. I just hope to improve and exchange some ideas. And it's very wonderful because it's social justice. When one steps outside to do a story, whether it's crime story, police negligence, whatever, it is related to social justice."
Still, Mehmood said she will miss her home life. She lives with her parents, who respect her work even as it comes into conflict with general societal norms.
"They were always proud of me, and they were very excited for the kind of work that I was doing. But at the same time, it was very difficult for them to deal with the timing and the kinds of situations I would put myself in. The way we live our lives in Muslim cultures, it's a modest way of living. So one has to be back on time from work. Initially, I used to say, ‘oh, there's an assignment that my office asked me to do.' But I would never tell them that I opted for that assignment in the first place."