Riada Asimovic Akyol on why she writes
Al-Monitor contributor Riada Asimovic Akyol shares her thoughts on journalism.
Riada Asimovic Akyol has been writing for Al-Monitor since August 2013. She is an independent analyst and writer whose articles have been published by the Al Jazeera Center for Studies and the Turkish daily Today's Zaman. She is pursuing a doctorate in international relations at Galatasaray University in Istanbul.
Al-Monitor: Why did you decide to become a journalist?
Akyol: Ever since my childhood in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, I have been accustomed to environments where political tensions shape the daily agenda, as in the Middle East, and learned firsthand of ethnic cleansing and even extremes like genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Balkan bloodshed in the '90s taught me the importance of having a voice, or seeking and offering one through the written word. I'm thankful for the opportunities to share different kinds of stories with wider audiences and shed new light on topics that I find both pertinent and personally important.
Al-Monitor: Did you have female role models to look up to when you were first starting out? Who?
