Our story
Our mission
Only 25% of news stories worldwide are about women. And just 3% of all news stories challenge gender stereotypes.
News reporting must be unbiased, transparent and truthful. It should expose hidden agendas and injustices. It should spark curiosity and entertain. It must represent everyone in society.
We need new perspectives. This is NADJA’s mission.
We believe that women, who are 50% of the world’s population, deserve a platform that highlights their achievements and crucial role in society. We believe that everyone, regardless of their geographical, socioeconomic, ethnic background or orientation, deserves to have their voices heard.
What we do
We publish news and opinions from all over the world. We challenge racist, sexist and ableist bias in all our reporting.
We don’t compete with other outlets on breaking news, becoming yet another traditional news website. Instead we thoroughly research and fact-check stories to ensure we represent diverse perspectives.
We want to help create a media that fairly represents women, and communities whose voices are under-represented.
Together we can, and will rethink the news.
Who we are
Former BBC colleagues and friends Alia Chebbab and Leila Hawkins created NADJA because they were frustrated by the way women were stereotyped in mainstream media.
Alia Chebbab became a journalist because of her passion and commitment to gender equality and social justice. As well as running NADJA, she has collaborated with fellows of the London School of Economics (LSE) to create the BiasBlocker, an AI tool for real-time bias detection for journalists. She loves travelling, street photography, food and reading – and can’t live without coffee.
Email me at alia@nadja.co
Leila Hawkins is a journalist and editor with a background in human rights and social issues. She has written for online and print publications including The Guardian, Vice, Positive News, Refinery29, Women’s Media Center and Glamour. She has been described as a “furious hippy”, and is happiest on a dancefloor or cooking too much food.
Email me at leila@nadja.co
Why the name NADJA?
“She told me her name, the one she had chosen for herself: Nadja, because in Russian it’s the beginning of the word hope, and because it’s only the beginning.”
Our name is inspired by the title character of the novel ‘Nadja’, written by surrealist French author André Breton and published in 1928. In the book, Nadja defies societal norms and expectations, and she has come to be interpreted as a symbol of the Surrealist quest for liberation and the longing for a deeper understanding of human existence.
