Background
Zeinab was born in the Sudan but moved to London at the age of three.
Zeinab was born in the Sudan but moved to London at the age of three.
Zeinab went to school in London. She took A'levels in Russian, Latin and History.
Badawi studied for a post-graduate degree in History and Anthropology of the Middle East at the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University SOAS. In 1989 she graduated with Distinction.
Zeinab Badawi has extensive experience in television and radio, working on a range of programs, in production as well as presenting in the studio and reporting in the field.
She began her TV career at Yorkshire TV in Leeds in 1982. There she worked on the local news program Calendar and researched, reported and presented a 20-part series on Economics for Channel 4 TV, called ' A Question of Economics'. She was also involved in a four-part TV documentary series on global food insecurity.
In 1986 Badawi moved to the BBC where she worked as a reporter on the domestic social affairs program: Brass Tacks on BBC 2 Television, before she left a year later to join ITN - the Independent Television News Network in London, where she worked for several years as co-presenter on Channel 4 News. After that Zeinab moved to programs on British politics - based at Westminster. She presented live political programs interviewing Members of Parliament as well as reporting live from the political party conferences in the UK.
Since the start of the last decade Zeinab has been presenting on BBC World News. She is currently the presenter of World News Today, one of the BBC World News’ flagship news and analysis programmes.
Zeinab Badawi is currently a patron of the BBC World Service Trust, a board member of the National Portrait Gallery. She has been a board member of the British Council, a former Chair of the London based freedom of speech campaign organisation, Article 19, a board member of the Overseas Development Institute.
Today Zeinab Badawi's family still run Al Ahfad University for Women that educates females from all parts of Sudan and the rest of Africa.
The journalist is married and has 2 sons and 2 daughters.
He was a newspaper editor and social reform activist in Sudan. When Badawi’s family moved to the UK, he joined the BBC’s Arabic Service.
Zeinab's great-grandfather fought against Lord Kitchener’s British forces at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898.
He made an outstanding contribution to the country - he was the pioneer of education for girls and women there.
