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Kiran Khalid our very own APF board member, who was the first Pakistani American to break into the world of broadcast news, talks about how she navigated it all in a candid podcast hosted by Bilal Lakhani. The podcast series called 'Pehchaan: Extraordinary Pakistani American Stories.' aims to unpack the stories and identities of Extraordinary Pakistani Americans. Bilal Lakhani picked Kiran Khalid as his first guest for the series.
In the episode with Kiran, they talk about breaking into broadcast news by day, while fending off ‘rishta aunties’ (matchmakers) in the evening, and how 9/11 altered her life and career path. And what it was like being the first Pakistani 'girl' raised by her family in America. Kiran, who’s success in broadcast media eventually took her to CNN, pursued journalism because of her passion for storytelling but it was ultimately about dispelling stereotypes and educating others.
“I wanted to be someone in a newsroom who could educate others about my culture,” she says in the episode. “I felt a responsibility that that presence was required and that I could fill that void.”
Ironically it was also that very cultural identity that almost held her back at the start of her career. This wasn’t considered a worthy goal for her, she as a woman will be successful when she finds a husband. Kiran candidly talks about all these ironies of being a Pakistani American, with humor and honestly in a very insightful conversation with Bilal Lakhani.
Asked about the emerging role of American Pakistanis in today’s America, Kiran gave a shout out to the work we do at APF. “I am very proud of some of the efforts under way. Civic engagement that we promote with the American Pakistan Foundation - it is an apolitical organization; they maintain that apolitical stance,” she said of APF’s mission. “It’s really about having Pakistani Americans become more engaged in civic government at every level and that’s the first step.”
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