On the morning of May 4, we received the news of our dear colleague and saathi Rizwana Tabassum’s death with utter shock. Reports say the ...
On the morning of May 4, we received the news of our dear colleague and saathi Rizwana Tabassum’s death with utter shock. Reports say the cause of her death was hanging. The reasons for her abrupt departure are not clear and the case is being investigated by the police. The days that followed saw an outpouring of grief, love and respect for a journalist so young and so fearless.
Nearly nine years ago, in June 2012, Rizwana, who we came to know as Riz, joined Khabar Lahariya, a grassroots feminist media organisation in Uttar Pradesh. She was just 19. She rode a cycle just over 5 km from Lohta in Harpalpur to Varanasi city for her interview. One of us, then the editor of the publication, travelled to Varanasi from Bundelkhand by train and arrived late. Riz playfully took us to task. It was pleasantly surprising to see someone so young speak her mind so freely.
“I may look small,” she told us, anticipating our hesitation, “but don’t go by my age and size. It is my dream to become a journalist because I have not seen many girls pursue this, definitely not the Muslim girls of my community. I want to be the first...
