Though, she did not that take opportunity, 12-years-later she did think she should have gone.
Voted one of the 500 most influential people in Britain, Mishal is the first Muslim presenter of Today, Radio 4’s flagship news programme; she was one of the main faces of the BBC’s Olympics coverage in 2012; and, last year, was chosen by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to conduct their first joint TV interview — this makes her success one of a kind.
As she reveals in a new book — In her book, she puts together expert advice backed by her experience and skill for the woman of today on everything from ‘how to use your voice, to body language and negotiating at work’. She’s had to look at body language herself, as ‘I’m small, I don’t have a commanding physical presence’.
In her 20-year career, she has met many iconic women, including Malala Yousafzai. However, what makes her book exceptionally interesting is the insights from her own life. She writes, ‘I’ve been flashed at and groped in public places and know how vulnerable it can make a girl or an adult woman feel.’
When she started writing her book, in 2016, it was about ‘the skills’ that have helped her get on. However later that year, her surgeon father, who had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, was dying, and the book took an emotional turn.
She really hopes that her book, although written from her perspective as a woman in the workplace, ‘will have a resonance, and a relevance, for anyone from a minority background, or who feels that their face might not fit, or that they’re going to face more barriers than other people’.
Like many children of immigrants who risked a great deal to come to this country, Mishal has always felt driven to do something substantial with her life.