# Shaista Aziz

Shaista Aziz (Urdu: شائستہ قوال; born 1978) is an English journalist, writer, stand-up comedian, politician, councillor for Rose Hill and Iffley in Oxford City Council, and former international aid worker of Kashmiri-Pakistani descent.

## Early life

Aziz's father arrived in Britain from Kashmir, Pakistan, at the age of 16 in the early 1950s. She is her parents' only daughter with two younger brothers. Aziz was born and brought up in Oxford, and read for a BA degree in English literature and Women's studies at university.

## Journalism career

Aziz has worked as a newsroom journalist for Al Jazeera's English news website in Doha, Qatar, a broadcast journalist and producer for the BBC and has written for New Internationalist magazine. As well as media specialist for Oxfam, Amnesty International, Save the Children and Islamic Relief. She has travelled and worked all over the world from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen to Haiti, Tajikistan, Burma, Russia, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Aziz writes for The Guardian newspaper, and is a regular panel guest on BBC Radio. In January and February 2011, she wrote a series of scripts for BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought,
In March 2015, Aziz presented the BBC Three documentary A Nation Divided? The Charlie Hebdo Aftermath, in which she visited France to find out why the country has become so divided, with young Muslims feeling alienated from mainstream society since the Charlie Hebdo shooting.

## Stand-up career

Aziz has performed stand up across the UK, including at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the Laughing Cows in August 2010, the Hong Kong International Comedy Festival and the Global Peace and Unity Event in October 2010.

## Political career

Aziz was the Constituency Labour Party Women's Officer for Oxford East Labour Party. In May 2018, in the Oxford City Council election, she was elected as councillor for the Rose Hill and Iffley ward.
Aziz is also a member of the Stop Trump coalition, a coalition of organisations and individuals protesting against U.S. President Donald Trump's planned state visit to the UK.
On 13 October 2023, 6 days after the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel in which over 1,000 Israelis were killed by Hamas fighters, Aziz made national headlines when she resigned from the Labour Party in protest at comments made by Keir Starmer on a radio show, in which he endorsed Israel's right to cut off energy and water from Palestinians in Gaza. Starmer subsequently clarified those comments. Councillor Amar Latif resigned the party at the same time as Aziz and 6 other Labour councillors followed within a week, causing the party to lose control of Oxford City Council.

### Petition to ban racists from football matches

In the aftermath of racist abuse targeted at England players at the UEFA Euro 2020 Final, an online petition calling for racists to be banned from all football matches in England partially organised by Aziz was signed by over a million people. Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Football Banning Orders would be amended to ensure that people guilty of online racist abuse would be banned from football matches.

## Awards, nominations and recognition

In 2006, Aziz was elected to the National Union of Journalists Black Members Council.
In May 2010, she reached the final of the Liverpool Comedy Festival Best Newcomer Awards and won the "King Gong" open mic competition at the Manchester Comedy Store. In September 2010, she reached the semi-finals of the Funny Women competition.

## Personal life

Aziz is a Muslim.