The journalist was listed for ‘vividly documenting their plight under Israel’s offensive’ [GETTY]
Bisan Owda, a Palestinian journalist based in Gaza, has been named one of the Financial Times’ 2024 most influential women.
FT says she has been listed for “vividly documenting their plight under Israel’s offensive”.
Since the start of Israel’s war, the journalist, along with many others, gained notoriety for following the assault on social media, with videos typically beginning with the phrase “I’m still alive”.
The publication also mentions that Owda was named for “highlighting every aspect of the catastrophe, reaching millions around the world on social media, filming displacement camps, hungry children and shattered towns. She rages against Israel’s ‘genocide’ and does not hide her tears”.
FT also notes that the journalist won a Peabody award for a short documentary, It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive, produced in collaboration with AJ+.
The documentary showed what her life was like in late October, fleeing the assaults and living in a tent outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The documentary also gave glimpses into the lives of others in Gaza, including an 11-year-old whose parents were killed when Israel bombed their house.
The journalist was also awarded an Emmy Award for the documentary, despite calls to have a nomination rescinded over unfounded claims Owda was affiliated with a “terrorist organisation”.
Owda has reported and witnessed many of Israel’s actions, including the complete blockade of aid, the spread of diseases and the forced displacement of Palestinians.
She also documented the Al-Shifa ambulance strike in November, the Flour Massacre of February 2024, and the forced displacement to Khan Younis.
Every year, the Financial Times names 25 women who have significantly impacted the world.
Others included in this year’s list include US Vice President Kamala Harris, mass rape survivor Gisele Pelicot, and Indian author Arundhati Roy.
