Diaa Hadid
Diaa Hadid chiefly covers Pakistan and Afghanistan for NPR News. She is based in NPR's bureau in Islamabad. There, Hadid and her team were awarded a Murrow in 2019 for hard news for their story on why abortion rates in Pakistan are among the highest in the world.
Hadid has also documented the culture war surrounding Valentines' Day in Pakistan, the country's love affair with Vespa scooters and the struggle of a band of women and girls to ride their bikes in public. She visited a town notorious in Pakistan for a series of child rapes and murders, and attended class with young Pakistanis racing to learn Mandarin as China's influence over the country expands.
Hadid joined NPR after reporting from the Middle East for over a decade. She worked as a correspondent for The New York Times from March 2015 to March 2017, and she was a correspondent for The Associated Press from 2006 to 2015.
Hadid documented the collapse of Gadhafi's rule in Libya from the capital, Tripoli. In Cairo's Tahrir Square, she wrote of revolutionary upheaval sweeping Egypt. She covered the violence of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria from Baghdad, Erbil and Dohuk. From Beirut, she was the first to report on widespread malnutrition and starvation inside a besieged rebel district near Damascus. She also covered Syria's war from Damascus, Homs, Tartous and Latakia.
Her favorite stories are about people and moments that capture the complexity of the places she covers.
They include her story on a lonely-hearts club in Gaza, run by the militant Islamic group Hamas. She unraveled the mysterious murder of a militant commander, discovering that he was killed for being gay. In the West Bank, she profiled Israel's youngest prisoner, a 12-year-old Palestinian girl who got her first period while being interrogated.
In Syria, she met the last great storyteller of Damascus, whose own trajectory of loss reflected that of his country. In Libya, she profiled a synagogue that once was the beating heart of Tripoli's Jewish community.
In Baghdad, Hadid met women who risked their lives to visit beauty salons in a quiet rebellion against extremism and war. In Lebanon, she chronicled how poverty was pushing Syrian refugee women into survival sex.
Hadid documented the Muslim pilgrimage to holy sites in Saudi Arabia, known as the Hajj, using video, photographs and essays.
Hadid began her career as a reporter for The Gulf News in Dubai in 2004, covering the abuse and hardships of foreign workers in the United Arab Emirates. She was raised in Canberra by a Lebanese father and an Egyptian mother. She graduated from the Australian National University with a B.A. (with Honors) specializing in Arabic, a language she speaks fluently. She also makes do in Hebrew and Spanish.
Her passions are her daughter, photography, cooking, vintage dress shopping and listening to the radio. She sings really badly, but that won't stop her.
Meet Hadid on Twitter @diaahadid, or see her photos on Instagram. She also often posts up her work on her community Facebook page.
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A man whose come to symbolize the whiplash rise, fall and rise again, of political fortunes in Pakistan says he's starting talks to form a coalition government after controversial elections.
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Mobile networks were shut off and militants attacked some candidates. One popular leader — who was not on the ballot — essentially campaigned for his proxies via an AI-generated version of himself.
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Thursday's general elections came amid economic woes and continued political polarization. After voting began, authorities cut mobile phone and internet services, citing "deteriorating security."
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Tens of millions of Pakistanis will cast their vote in elections on Thursday, but analysts say the outcome is unlikely to reflect the will of the people.
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Pakistan's upcoming elections are about one man who isn't on the ballot. He's in jail, and his party is barred from campaigning.
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Much of India celebrates as the prime minister consecrates a controversial temple to Lord Ram. Critics say its done with an eye to elections, and there's unease among Muslims.
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India's prime minister lead the consecration ceremony for a temple. A Hindu group built it on the site of a historic mosque that was razed three decades ago.
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2024 will be a key test for the health of democracy around the world. Analysis of significant elections in key regions, and what they might portend.
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NPR tours a controversial Hindu temple that is set to be inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of a crucial election.
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Pakistan struck Iranian territory in response to Iranian strikes in Pakistani territory earlier this week. Pakistan has expelled the Iranian ambassador.