Ariba Shahid

economics journalist

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Ariba Shahid is an economics journalist from Karachi. She has said that she loves both economics and writing. She has also said that she submits an article every week.

Early life and background

Shahid has said that she is from Karachi. She has described a home with very open discussions, in which she can tell her father that he is wrong. Her mother ran a salon and is a makeup artist. Shahid has said that she first went online in 1999, on a dial-up connection. [1]

Education

For her O levels, Shahid took economics and math, along with business studies and accounting. She has said that she loved economics from the start and scored the highest marks in it. For her A levels she studied math, accounting and economics. [1]

Shahid had won a scholarship to St Andrews in Scotland for her bachelor's degree. She has said that her mother became very ill during her A levels. She has also said that she is an only child and decided that she could not go. [1]

Shahid has said that she wanted to go to IBA, which meant she had to deal with math. At the time, economics and math could only be taken together, as a dual major. She has said that she could not remember the many theorems in one of her courses. [1]

Career

Shahid took a corporate research and investigation job. She then worked at another firm as an economic researcher. She also interned at a brokerage firm, where she said she learned a lot. She has said that she never thought she wanted to go into journalism. [1]

As a journalist, Shahid has said that she can write about whatever she wants, as long as she can give it a business angle. She has said that an article can take a day of work, or up to three weeks. One story that she loved, which is no longer available, took a month. She has said that her official working day is 9 to 5, and that she can finish a short story in a day. [1]

Shahid wrote a story about private vaccinations using court documents. She has said that she read the documents twice and found something new each time. She has also said that she played devil's advocate, writing the other side of a story and then adding it. While she was working on a story about Daraz, she and those working with her obtained the company's financials. [1]

Shahid has said that when a subject does not respond, she considers that she has done her job. She has said that a person who was not contacted for a story can ask for their side to be added. She has said that she sent an article to a person who had not talked to her. She has also said that her friends avoid talking about work in front of her, because she might write about what they say. She has said that she was moderating a lecture in a series. [1]

Views

On online conduct, Shahid has said that she does not want to actively take part in cancelling people. She does not comment on social media topics that she is confused about. She has said that moral policing should not happen, whether it comes from the right or the left. She can stop following someone herself, but she cannot enforce that on others. [1]

Shahid has said that repeated direct messages and calls from masked numbers count as harassment. She would also call organized trolling harassment. She has said that the best approach to anonymous people or small accounts is not to respond. She responds based on a person's profile and tone, not their follower count. [1]

On transport, Shahid has said that Karachi is now so vast that it is difficult to make a system that works. She has said that Pakistan needs public transport rather than more cars. She has said that the car scheme was not needed while the auto sector was doing well. She has described the auto sector as primarily made up of rent seekers. She has also said that the car scheme does not benefit laborers. [1]

Shahid has said that more than half of the Pakistanis who move abroad are laborers or drivers. She has said that remittances are mainly for the sender's family, not for the national economy. She has said that she resents overseas Pakistanis getting privileges while she lives and pays tax in Pakistan. She has described herself as bitter about overseas Pakistanis, but has said that she does not hate them. She has said that she pays her taxes because she has to. [1]

On women and money, Shahid has said that banks need to do more, and that pink cheque books are not the solution. She has said that she would like to believe that many women's bank accounts are joint accounts. She has said that one reason women are given gold at weddings is that they can take it with them if they have to leave. She has also said that women who have not studied economics are less likely to know its jargon. [1]

Personal life

Shahid has said that she drives herself and avoids ride-hailing apps, because she does not feel safe as a woman in them. She has said that she does not really like math, and she has described herself as someone who struggles and cries over hard math. Her pinned tweet, which says that daughters should not be indulged too much, is by her account a sub-tweet. [1]

Shahid has said that two people she has written about dislike her. She has said that she was trolled for using the word troll. She has said that older men at drawing-room discussions would shrug her off when she joined economic debates. She has also said that unplanned things can turn out to be amazing. [1]

Timeline

1999
First went online, on a dial-up connection[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2021-07-14 Why the car scheme was the wrong gift for overseas Pakistanis Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Ariba Shahid?

Ariba Shahid is an economics journalist from Karachi. She has said that she loves both economics and writing.[1]

What does Ariba Shahid do?

Ariba Shahid is a journalist who writes on economics. She has said that she can write about whatever she wants, as long as she can give it a business angle. She has also said that she submits an article every week.[1]

Where is Ariba Shahid from?

Ariba Shahid has said that she is from Karachi. She has also said that she lives in Pakistan and pays tax there.[1]

What did Ariba Shahid study?

For her O levels, Ariba Shahid took economics and math, along with business studies and accounting. For her A levels she studied math, accounting and economics. She has said that she wanted to go to IBA, which meant she had to deal with math.[1]

Did Ariba Shahid win a scholarship to St Andrews?

Ariba Shahid had won a scholarship to St Andrews in Scotland for her bachelor's degree. She has said that she is an only child and decided that she could not go.[1]

How long does an article take Ariba Shahid to write?

Ariba Shahid has said that an article can take a day of work, or up to three weeks. One story that she loved, which is no longer available, took a month. She has also said that she can finish a short story in a day.[1]

What does Ariba Shahid think about overseas Pakistanis?

Ariba Shahid has said that she resents overseas Pakistanis getting privileges while she lives and pays tax in Pakistan. She has described herself as bitter about them, but has said that she does not hate them. She has also said that remittances are mainly for the sender's family, not for the national economy.[1]

References

  1. Why the car scheme was the wrong gift for overseas Pakistanis . Thought Behind Things , 2021-07-14.
Show the source passages (66 statements)
  1. The episode description introduces Ariba Shahid as a journalist. Exploring her journey into profit and journalism with tonight’s guest, Ariba Shahid.
  2. The episode description calls Ariba Shahid an economics journalist. How did she end up being an economics journalist?
  3. She took economics and math, among other subjects, for her O levels. I I took eco, math, uh business studies and accounting waghera.
  4. She said she loved economics from the start and scored the highest marks in it. And I loved economics like from the get go. I I would score the highest marks
  5. She studied math, accounting and economics for her A levels. Uh I had math, accounting and economics, of course.
  6. She had won a scholarship to St Andrews in Scotland for her bachelor's degree. I wanted to go to Scotland because I've always lived in big cities and I wanted to go to St. Andrews uh for my bachelors. And I even got a scholarship
  7. Her mother became ill during her A levels. My mom got really sick when I was in my A levels
  8. She said she is an only child and so decided she could not go abroad. I'm an only child. So I was like, no, I can't go.
  9. She wanted to go to IBA, which meant she had to study math. but since I wanted to go to IBA, I had to deal with math.
  10. At the time, economics and math could only be taken together as a dual major. But back then we only had econ and math together. It was a dual majors.
  11. She said she does not really like math. And I don't really like math to be very honest.
  12. She described herself as someone who struggles and cries over hard math. I'm the third type, the type that struggles and cries.
  13. She said she could not remember the many theorems in one of her courses. Usme itne theorems hote hain na ke mujhse theorems yaad nahi hote.
  14. She said she is from Karachi. because I'm from Karachi and we think we're better than you.
  15. She said her family has very open discussions, and she can tell her father he is wrong. Mere ghar mein my parents and I, we have very open discussions. I can tell my I can tell my dad, you're wrong
  16. Her mother had a salon and is a makeup artist. she was she had a salon and she's a makeup artist.
  17. She said her pinned tweet, which says daughters should not be indulged too much, is a sub-tweet. my pinned tweet is betiyon ko zyada sar nahi chadhana chahiye. And that is a sub-tweet.
  18. She said she first went online in 1999 on dial-up. So, so I joined the internet back in 1999, dial up.
  19. She took a corporate research and investigation job. So I picked up a corporate research investigation job.
  20. She then worked at another firm as an economic researcher. Uh and then following that I worked at another firm as an economic researcher.
  21. She interned at a brokerage firm and said she learned a lot there. I interned at a brokerage firm where I learned a lot to be very honest.
  22. She said she applied at random and was interviewed by a man who was visiting Karachi, without preparing for it. I applied randomly and Babar Nizami sahab Karachi mein aaye hue the, he took my interview and I did not prepare for it.
  23. She said she had never thought she wanted to go into journalism. I never thought I wanted to go into journalism.
  24. She said she can write about whatever she wants, as long as she can give it a business angle. I can literally write about whatever I want as long as I can give it a business spin.
  25. She said she loves both economics and writing. I love economics and I love writing.
  26. She said she submits an article every week. hota yeh hai ke every week I submit an article.
  27. She said an article can take a day or up to three weeks of work. Sometimes that article takes a day of work. Sometimes it takes like three weeks of work.
  28. She said one story she loved, which is no longer available, took a month. there's one story that I really love which is no longer there. Yeah. That one took a month.
  29. She said her official working day is 9 to 5. So even though I work 9 to 5, so there's this.
  30. She said she can finish a short story in a day. You could finish a short story in a day.
  31. She wrote a story about private vaccinations using court documents. I wrote a story on vaccines, private vaccinations. So I got court documents
  32. She said she read the court documents twice and found something new each time. I went through them twice and believe me, every time I went through them, I found something new.
  33. She said she played devil's advocate, writing the other side of a story and then adding it. I then played devil's advocate and wrote the other side and then I added the other side.
  34. She said that while working on a story about Daraz, she and those working with her obtained the company's financials. we were working on a story about Daraz, uh we got their financials.
  35. She said her friends avoid talking about work in front of her, because she might write about what they say. my friends don't like talking about work with me anymore ke bhai iske saamne mat bolo, kuch pata chal jayega isko. Toh yeh likh degi.
  36. She said that when a subject does not respond, she considers she has done her job. And if you don't respond, I've done my job.
  37. She said a person who was not contacted for a story can ask for their side to be added. you could say please add my side of the story as well.
  38. She said she sent an article to a person who had not talked to her. He did not talk to me. So when I wrote the article the next one, I sent it to him.
  39. She said two people she has written about dislike her. there are two people that really hate me.
  40. She said she was trolled for using the word troll. and I got trolled for using the word troll.
  41. She said she was moderating a lecture in a series. Raza Baqir is delivering a lecture in that series. So it's I'm moderating.
  42. She said she does not want to actively take part in cancelling people. I don't think I I want to actively partake in canceling someone.
  43. She said she does not comment on social media topics she is confused about. if I'm ever confused about something, I don't comment on it.
  44. She said moral policing should not happen, whether it comes from the right or the left. moral policing nahi honi chahiye chahe wo right kare ya left kare.
  45. She said she can stop following someone herself but cannot enforce that on others. I can cancel someone on my behalf and say, mujhe ye banda nahi acha lagta, main isko aage nahi follow karungi. But I cannot enforce it on you because aapki marzi hai.
  46. She said repeated DMs and calls from masked numbers count as harassment. like literally repeatedly. Aapko randomly calls aa rahi hain masked numbers se. I would call that harassment.
  47. She said she would call organized trolling harassment. Yeah, I would call organized trolling harassment.
  48. She said the best approach to anonymous people or small accounts is not to respond. So the best thing to do is do not respond to anonymous people or smaller accounts.
  49. She said she responds based on a person's profile and tone, not follower count. It's it's based on the profile. So if I see the person, see banda tameez ka decent lag raha hai, I will respond regardless of the person has 10 followers.
  50. She said she drives herself and avoids ride-hailing apps because she does not feel safe as a woman in them. I drive. I don't uh use these ride hailing apps because I feel that I'm I don't feel safe as a woman in them.
  51. She said Karachi is now so vast that it is difficult to make a system that works. Karachi is so vast at this point. It's really difficult to actually make a system that works
  52. She said Pakistan needs public transport rather than more cars. we don't need more cars on the road. We need public transport.
  53. She said the car scheme was not needed while the auto sector was doing well. But like I just felt that a car scheme right now when the auto sector was doing really well,
  54. She said the auto sector is primarily made up of rent seekers. Like you didn't need that extra push for a sector that is primarily rent seekers.
  55. She said the car scheme does not benefit laborers. This is not benefiting jo mazdoor aap jiski baat kar rahe ho.
  56. She said more than half of Pakistanis who move abroad are laborers or drivers. But like around 50%, more than 50% of our labor, uh of our people that move abroad are either laborers or drivers abroad.
  57. She said remittances are mainly for the sender's family, not for the national economy. jo aap remittance bhejte ho, that's for your family.
  58. She said she resents overseas Pakistanis getting privileges while she lives and pays tax in Pakistan. I just don't like the fact ke main Pakistan mein reh rahi hoon, main tax de rahi hoon, main main sab kar rahi hoon.
  59. She said she is bitter about overseas Pakistanis but does not hate them. I don't hate. I'm I'm just I'm just bitter.
  60. She said she pays her taxes because she has to. Like I'm I'm paying my taxes because I have to pay my taxes.
  61. She said banks need to do more, and pink cheque books are not the solution. banks really need to do more and pink checkbooks are not the solution.
  62. She said she would like to believe many women's bank accounts are joint accounts. I would like to believe that a lot of them are also joint accounts and rather than sole accounts owned by women.
  63. She said one reason women are given gold at weddings is that they can take it with them if they have to leave. A lot of reasons why women give gold to their daughters on their wedding is primarily because ek agar kabhi you know, maar peet pad rahi ho ya kuch bhi ho, apna zevar leke bhaag jao.
  64. She said women who have not studied economics are less likely to know its jargon. unless they haven't studied, uh they're less likely to know these jargons.
  65. She said older men at drawing-room discussions would shrug her off when she joined economic debates. Whenever uncles would have a drawing room discussion and I would partake in it and I would go like, nahi yeh, nahi yeh. Toh mujhe they would shrug me off.
  66. She said unplanned things can turn out to be amazing. sometimes unplanned things are amazing.