The British-Pakistani journalist becomes disabled as a result of an accident during her coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict in Jerusalem, as reported by The Guardian.
LONDON: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-July 10th, 2023) A former reporter of Cable News Network (CNN), a US-based broadcasting company, has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, alleging racial discrimination and unfair termination following a severe injury sustained while on assignment in Israel.
Saima Mohsin, a British-Pakistani journalist, became disabled as a result of an accident during her coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict in Jerusalem, as reported by The Guardian. The incident occurred in 2014 when her cameraman accidentally ran over her foot with a car, causing significant damage to her tissues.
Since the accident, Mohsin has faced considerable challenges in performing basic physical activities such as sitting, standing, walking, and returning to full-time work. Despite her plea for a less physically demanding role and support for rehabilitation, CNN categorically denied her requests.
According to The Guardian, Mohsin claims that she also proposed switching to a presenting role to reduce travel time but was informed by CNN that she did not possess the desired appearance for the position.
Subsequently, three years after the accident, CNN terminated Mohsin's employment. Consequently, she initiated legal proceedings in an employment tribunal, scheduled to commence on Monday, as CNN failed to provide assistance following her life-altering injury.
Mohsin expressed her disappointment, stating, "I worked hard to become an international correspondent and loved my job with CNN. I risked my life many times on assignment for CNN believing they would have my back. They did not."
Apart from the allegations of racial and disability discrimination, Mohsin also asserts the presence of a gender pay gap during her tenure at CNN. Additionally, she claimed that her managers exhibited a preference for white American correspondents, even when she was ready to report live from the field, resulting in reduced on-air opportunities for her.
CNN argues that Mohsin is unable to bring the case to a London court based on her contractual agreement.
Outside her work with CNN, Mohsin has created a program for ITV addressing the challenges of living with invisible disabilities. She also works as a freelance presenter for Sky News, a UK-based news organization.
"I hope this raises concerns for all foreign correspondents who travel around the world, taking risks to report the news, trusting that their employers will support them," Mohsin expressed. "I am also seizing this opportunity to shed light on the racism and gender pay gap issues I encountered. I was consistently let down and prevented from realizing my potential while at CNN. I am pursuing this claim to take a stand and advocate for change to ensure better protection for women journalists, especially women journalists of color."
