Raghida Dergham

Raghida Dergham (born 1953) is a Lebanese-American journalist based in New York where she is a senior diplomatic correspondent for Al-Hayat, which is published in London, UK, and reports on the United Nations. She is a frequent commentator on CNN. She is well-known internationally as an Arab female journalist, and has received awards for her career achievements.

Dergham sees herself as an interpreter of the Arab and American cultures for her two audiences.

Early life

Raghida Dergham was born to Nabih and Bahia Dergham in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1953. Her family is Druze in religion. Dergham moved to the United States in 1970 when she was seventeen, and worked her way through college at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh where she studied creative writing and journalism, and graduated in 1974.

Career

Raghida Dergham began her career in journalism at the age of fifteen. She and her friend Hanan al-Shaykh, who is a Lebanese author, would publish their articles in the Beirut newspapers. Dergham published articles in al-Hasnaa (magazine) and al-Anwar (newspaper supplement).