Sahar Zand

Why you should listen

Sahar Zand is a British-Iranian reporter and filmmaker with extensive experience in long-form current affairs and documentaries. She's fronted and produced a range of award-winning films, podcasts and articles from across the world for the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Sky, Vice and a number of other international broadcasters. From investigating the murky market of virginity testing, hymen reconstruction and honor-based abuse in the UK to the rise of right-wing politics in Europe, mental health in Afghanistan, the siege on the press in Nicaragua and force-feeding young girls for marriage in Mauritania, Zand has covered hard-hitting stories exposing various forms of human rights abuses. More recently, she produced and reported on Nepal’s child laborers; scandals of Sumo wrestling in Japan; Iran's "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests; and the abuse of INTERPOL's Red Notice system by authoritarian regimes.

Zand was born in Iran and lived the first 12 years of her life there before escaping the country with her mother and sister to avoid political persecution. After several years being smuggled from border to border and relocating between refugee camps across Europe, she eventually found herself in the UK. This adversity has given her insight into marginalized communities and allows her to report from a unique perspective rarely seen in mainstream media. She is recognized as a disruptive, creative and distinguished journalist of the digital age and is regularly interviewed about her work on international news publications including The Times, Financial Times, The Spectator, Huffington Post and NPR.