Every other Thursday I profile a new incredible woman, each from a different walk of life. Different professions, causes, backgrounds, ethnicities, orientations, and anything/everything else!
So without further delay, let me introduce the awesome Aliya-Jasmine Sovani…
Interviewing the famous and reporting on the music biz is all part of the job for Aliya-Jasmine Sovani. Volunteering to teach English and social skills to Afghan children who have recently arrived in the country is also an integral part of the MTV News and MTV2 Videos host’s life. If this wasn’t enough, Aliya-Jasmine also has an impressive list of credentials including interning at Fashion Television, working part-time as a cable-wrangler for Star! TV, acting as a field producer and host for BPM: TV, as well as a producer for MuchMusic’s MuchOnDemand, traveling across Canada as the tour correspondent for MuchMusic’s VJ Search.
Also involved in an initiative between MTV and Plan Canada, Aliya-Jasmine recently traveled to Sudan to look at the issue of young girls being forced into marriage, which was documented and made into the documentary Girls of Latitude.
Aliya-Jasmine tells us why we should never under estimate the power of conversation and why Superman doesn’t have to be the only hero!
What drives you to do what you do?
Genuine Curiosity.
How does being a woman empower / challenge you?
I remember picking up a vintage Superman comic the year before I graduated University. Lois Lane was working as a journalist and fighting alongside feminists for her rights while falling in love with Superman. The comic book was vintage, yet the fight for gender equality and the rights of girls is still a war every woman should wage today, not only in developing nations but in the western world as well. I believe it is our responsibility, as women, to prove stereotypes wrong and fight for Justice. Superman doesn’t have to be the ONLY hero.
What advice would you give to young women who want to follow in your footsteps?
Run the other way! No, I’m kidding. My advice is not only to do what you love, but do what’s going to make you happy. Sometimes what you love will be your job, sometimes your job will give you a good life so you can do what you love as a hobby. Neither is a bad choice. Just be happy.
Name one person, place, or thing every young woman should know about?
A great hair salon and a charitable cause you believe in.
What is the most important thing we can do in order to change the world?
Dialogue. Never under estimate the power of conversation… it forms thoughts, people, actions, laws, and change. Talk to people, be curious, have dinner parties, learn from everyone! And through it all, remember to smile.
Catch Aliya-Jasmine on MTV News weekdays at 6:30pm ET or online here.
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