Zahra Joya

Zahra Joya is a journalist from Afghanistan, now exiled in London, and is the founder of Rukhshana Media, one of Afghanistan's first news agencies dedicated to women's stories and the author of The Vanishing girl of Kabul.

Joya and her team continue reporting under immense danger. Her courageous journalism has earned global recognition, including the Foreign Press 2022 Award, Louis M. Lyons Award, Goalkeepers Changemaker 2022 and Marie Colvin Award. 

She was named as TIME Woman of the Year in 2022, was among BBC’s 100 Women and was honoured with Spain's Llibertat Expressions 2022 award. She is a Fellow at Hughes Hall, Cambridge University.