Up Close and Personal With The Powerhouse Sidra Iqbal

Sidra Iqbal is a renowned tv broadcast journalist, media communication expert, and policy influencer from Pakistan. Celebrated as one of the most iconic broadcast hosts in the country, she has maintained her esteemed image of being a force to be reckoned with. Iqbal is also one of the most powerful youth icons who makes it a point to take pressing matters head-on in all facets of the social strata through her media work. Because inquisition is second nature to Iqbal, as she believes in creating an impact. Currently, Iqbal hosts the morning show, "Aaj Pakistan with Sidra Iqbal" on one of Pakistan's leading news channels, Aaj News. Through her distinct ability, she knows how to make a lasting impression on everyone. But who is Sidra Iqbal behind the camera lens? We got a chance to chat with the brilliant tv host to find out a bit more about what she is like off-screen:

 

1. The past year was very challenging, has there been anything in particular that you’ve learned in 2021 that you would like to share?

Yes, 2021 was very challenging. I think it was more trying than 2020 because at that time we were all gung-ho about solving all of those challenges. The next year, however, it sank in how real the change is and how it’s here to stay. I think what I realized last year is that anything that stays for longer than three months is permanent in your life. So, instead of resisting it, it’s good to embrace it, learn it, go with the flow and not make yourself more miserable than you need to be. 

2. Have you always wanted to be a TV anchor? How did you know that was the right path for you? 

I think being a tv anchor happened to me by accident. I have always been very opinionated, I was an avid public speaker and debater throughout my school and college life. I believe my major calling has been public-facing and articulating my thoughts. And with that came a lot of responsibility. Once I got involved in public policy matters, business affairs, and economics, taking that macro policy outlook to things just came naturally to me. If I had not completed my master’s in business administration, I would have probably gone for studies in anthropology, that’s how much I enjoyed public policy and societal changes and the various facets of psychology, sociology, politics, and that interplay. I thought about bringing all that information through my ideas and opinions, using them to probe the people in power, and before I knew it shaped my television career and I quite enjoyed it. 

3. What was your first-ever job? 

My first job ever, (on a lighthearted note) was babysitting because my sisters are seven and eight years younger than me. I became the big sister at seven. But my first paid job was being a debate coach because my liking was in debates and public speaking. When I made my name in circuit both national and international for the first time, I had been designated a paying workshop at the British Council and I was hired by several universities as well as schools to coach their students when they would be going in for nationals and other such events. I think that was perhaps the early phase of being a communications strategist and later on, once I had completed my MBA, I would also coach a lot of my clients while I was in the advertising and PR business. I would mostly coach my clients to be media-facing, to be able to interact with several stakeholders and it was something I really enjoyed as well. 

4. What do you like doing in your free time? 

I am a huge movie buff! I love watching films. I love reading as many books as I can and to me cooking is also very therapeutic so I cook for joy. When I’m really really stressed my way of unwinding is learning new recipes.

5. Which celebrity inspires you the most? 

Well forever I have been inspired by four women and it’s no secret, I always talk about that. So, the first is Oprah Winfrey because there are multiple things that she does and aces in. Growing up as a kid I used to love Nazia Hassan and her music as well. I thought it was upbeat, it was everything one would aspire music to be like, it was lighthearted and fun. Lady Diana was my all-time favorite in terms of grace and the way she would carry herself. I just loved the kind of impact she had as well as the adoration and love that people had for her. In terms of someone I certainly see as a woman of strength who had the nerve of steel and the kind of courage and bravery that I wish every woman had, it would have to be Benazir Bhutto. So these four women to me are the epitome of feminine strength and leadership qualities for me. 

6. What’s your biggest pet peeve? 

Being disorganized. I think I can not be in a physical space that is cluttered and messy. I like things to be proper and sometimes that’s my biggest peeve when it comes to the studios and the tv business in Pakistan. I think it could do with a bit of scrubbing and cleaning up. Almost all the offices and studios that I have been to… I like things to be clean and nicely done, preferably smelling nice too. 

7. How does it feel to be in the public eye all the time? 

Honestly, it happened so early on. I was thrust into the limelight when at the age of 15 when I won the international championship. Back in the day print was big, social media wasn’t big and people would do anything to be covered in the leading newspapers of that time or to be covered by the leading channels of that time. So, it came to me rather quickly and I am very grateful for that so I don’t really know life otherwise. When it happens to you so quickly it just shapes all of your realities. I like it, it comes with a lot of responsibility. I’m a private person but at the same time, I don’t feel that there is that much of a difference between my private life and what the public knows about me. For a lot of people it becomes a dichotomy, they think they can not let people know because the life they live is quite different from the life they show. For me, it’s not that different even if parts of it, people find out about. I’m not too bothered. I like to keep it private because I feel like that’s the kind of privacy I owe to my family and my dear friends.

8. Do you speak any other languages? 

I speak English and Urdu but I understand Gujarati, Sindhi, and Punjabi as well. So yes, I understand a lot of regional languages. I have always thought that if I could have any superpower it would be to learn as many languages as possible. I’ve always liked picking up little bits of phrases here and there. I have some working knowledge of almost every country I have been to but sadly I only speak English and Urdu fluently. 

9. If you had a million dollars right now what would you do? 

Not to sound like a philanthropist but I would actually donate it to a cause that would enable life and the pursuit of happiness. In all probability it would be something education-related because early on when I was a debater, we came from an upper-middle-class family and everybody was a professional. We didn’t have loads and loads of cash to throw around. Every time there was an international competition there were two steps to the process. Number one, I had to get selected to be there to represent Pakistan, and secondly, I had to get sponsorships to figure out that now that I had been selected how would I pay for the plane ticket. So I feel that I have been backed by very generous organizations and individuals who made it a point that when I had the will and the talent I could actually explore it. So if I had a million bucks I would set up several fellowships and scholarships for deserving people which is both need and merit-based and it would allow people to explore their potential. 

10. What’s your favorite book? 

There are many. Strangely, I’ve always been a Dan Brown fan and the last book I read was The Inferno. I’m also a huge Harry Potter fan as well. Those are the ones that are more towards my fiction side. There was a point in time when I wasn’t reading a lot of fiction at all. I was reading a lot of factual stuff and one of the books that had left a lot of impact on me was ‘The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid’ by C.K Prahalad which talks about how flawed our thinking is about people who are not as privileged as us. We always assume that they save less or they’re poor because they are lazy. So one of the things this book has done is to make me realize and understand how biased our thinking is when it comes to underserved people. So, yes that happens to be one of my favorite books as well. 

11. What message would you like to give your fans? 

I would like to let people who listen to me or read about me know that they must learn to question their own feelings and their understanding of things. That’s the antidote to growth. I think one of our biggest problems as human beings is to become very set in our ways and we get very set in our thinking. If you really want to continue growing in life and see the sweetness and niceness of things and keep on learning in every experience, you need to be a little fluid. You have to be willing to let go of your own dreams and of plans that didn’t work out the way you hoped. You know, not give up in the sense of feeling hopeless but actually embrace the sense that if it didn’t work out that means that a divine plan is at play, and at any measure, the divine plan would be way better than my plan. To have that faith and to have that trust muscle is something we need to function more and practice more. 

12. What would be the theme song of your life right now? 

Titanium by Sia!  I feel that these years have been so testing and I wouldn’t lie about it because I would want people to know that sometimes we feel so seemingly put together, so sorted, so calm, there are tonnes of battles that we are all fighting so I want people to know that yes it hasn’t been easy but I would hope that it always continues to be my strength. It has been very challenging. There are times when I have had to put on a brave front but I never had to fake it. There are a lot of people that will tell you to fake it til you make it and my mantra would be “faith it till you make it”. If you’re going through hell, the obvious choice is that you have to keep going because the tunnel has to end. If you give up and you accept that as your reality then you’re done for. So I want people to know that no matter how tough or cruel or unfair life may seem, just keep going, keep breathing and you’ll be ok. 

13. What’s next for Sidra Iqbal?

I’m trusting the unfolding. One of the things I have realized these last couple of years is that we are so busy doing things that we seldom enjoy the things that we do. I have very mindfully decided that all things which I have achieved and all the things that have unfolded for me, I will cherish them, love them and savor them and I will use that as my inspiration to let the other things unfold before me. So I honestly don’t know the next step but I am very present and I’m enjoying the present moment.