Ayesha Tanzeem

Ayesha Tanzeem heads VOA’s Pakistan and Afghanistan and Pakistan bureau based in Islamabad, Pakistan. She is one of a few foreign correspondents who have traveled to areas under the control and influence of the Islamic State militant group while it was at the peak of its power in eastern Afghanistan in 2015. Her reporting that brought to light tales of harrowing cruelty and suffering earned her the David Burke award for Courage in Journalism.

Previously, she hosted two VOA current affairs TV shows: “On the Line” and “Access Point with Ayesha Tanzeem."

Ayesha has lived and worked on three continents — Asia, Europe, and North America — working for various media outlets. She has covered a broad variety of subjects, including U.S. presidential elections, terrorism, conflicts in the Middle East, the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S., the Syrian refugee/migrant crisis in Europe, and efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan.

In her current position, she covers issues related to politics, governance, militancy, terrorism, and human rights, particularly women's and minority rights in Afghanistan and Pakistan. She frequently travels to conflict zones in both countries to collect first-hand accounts of life under the shadow of violence. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Georgia State University.