In the early 2000s Nazish started her career in print journalism and went on to work in other media, including radio and television. Nazish has won awards for her work and has extensively covered conflict, peace and security in South Asia and the Middle East.
Pakistan’s tribal regions
Her work included stories from Pakistan’s tribal regions. She wrote, "I wanted to learn how journalists work in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, a semiautonomous, conflict-ridden region made up of seven tribal 'agencies' along the Afghan border known as the 'war zone.' Twelve journalists have been killed there since the terrorist attacks in the US on 9/11. If Pakistan is the worst place to be a journalist, FATA is the worst of the worst." In Pakistan, she reported from the conflict-ridden FATA under Taliban control and later when the Pakistan army started its operation against terrorists in the region.
Life in Mosul
In 2017, Nazish catalogued the experiences of journalists working out of Mosul. “Journalists are beaten or executed as spies… the militant group ISIS began rounding up journalists suspected of leaking negative information about the Islamic State,” she reported.
She did several stories on the ISIS presence in Kobani. In one article, Nazish noted, "Many dead bodies of Islamic States fighters are strewn across street corners, and this is creating a hygiene issue for the children and pregnant women still living inside." She later wrote about ISIS in Pakistan. Nazish produced reports on civilians trapped in Aleppo during 2016. Her work focused on the plight of the civilians.
Kurdish struggle
Nazish covered Turkey’s curfews and their impact on Kurdish towns. “A 24-hour curfew was imposed on the town of about 130,000 people last December, and was only lifted this month. Residents who had fled the violence were allowed to return to Cizre on March 2, but many quickly discovered they had little to come home to.”, she wrote in one piece.
She was the Daniel Pearl fellow in 2014, at which time she worked at The New York Times. While at the Times, Nazish focused on terrorism courts in Manhattan, the NYPD and the New YorkMuslim community. Nazish contributed reporting at the foreign desk.
Threats and exile from Pakistan
While investigating a story involving the influence of intelligence agencies on democratic institutions in Pakistan, Nazish received death threats and was forced to drop the story. In the wake of the threats, Nazish lived in self-exile for years. She was vocal about the threats women journalists faced during the time, and the impunity that the culprits enjoy. A 2017 study chronicled the many ways that women journalists had been surveilled and monitored, leading to self-censorship, documenting her experiences and exile.
As founding director of The Coalition For Women In Journalism, Nazish pioneered the first global mentorship program for mid-career women journalists. The organization emphasizes the safety, wellbeing and growth of women journalists. The organization launched in 2017 and worked as a pro-bono organization. In 2019, The Coalition For Women In Journalism received funding support from Craig Newmark Philanthropies. The organization initiated its advocacy, including documentation of the threats and abuse that women journalists face globally. The Coalition established a network in several countries, each including local mentors, who offer guidance to CFWIJ Fellows in their respective local language. Nazish sought to address gaps she saw in the industry and threats that women journalists face. “In a precarious and largely misogynist environment, female journalists feel stressed, stuck and often tired,” she said in an interview. Nazish spoke at length about issues that women journalists face across the globe, and produced a research article for Women’s Media Center on how women journalists work in Mexico. The organization has networks in South Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North America.
Nazish received an Agahi Award in 2013 for best reporting for her story on internally displaced children in Dawn and was nominated for other pieces during 2012. Her work was on the Foreign Policy AfPak Channels’ Top 10 of 2012. Her interview with Pakistani politician Imran Khan made the list. It was the year's fifth most read piece. In 2019, Splice Watch featured her on their People to Watch list for 2019.
