Kholoud Waleed

Kholoud Waleed or Kholoud Helmi^[2] (Arabic: خلود وليد; born in 1984 in Darayya^[3]) is a Syrian journalist, and co-founder and editor of the underground newspaper Enab Baladi. She is a recipient of the Anna Politkovskaya Award for her reporting about the Syrian Civil War.

Kholoud Waleed [1]
Born	1984 (age 40–41) Darayya, Syria
Nationality	Syrian
Alma mater	Damascus University
Employer	newspaper Enab Baladi.
Known for	journalist Anna Politkovskaya Award for her reporting about the Syrian Civil War

Early life

Waleed grew up in Darayya and studied English Literature at Damascus University before becoming a teacher in her native Syria.^[4][5] As a result of the Darayya massacre, she left the town and fled to the countryside with her family.^[5]

Work as journalist and activism

Not having any journalistic training, Waleed teamed up with friends to report about civil war in Syria. As their work gained momentum, they created the newspaper Enab Baladi with the intention of reporting the "voice of the vulnerable".^[4][6]

Waleed and the newspaper claim that they have been subject to threats from multiple parties involved in the war which prompted her to live in hiding.^[7] Her brother was arrested by government forces in 2012 and his fate is unknown.^[5] For a period of time she was exiled in Turkey.^[8]

Despite this, she also organised demonstrations, demanding democracy and free speech as well as highlighting human rights abuses.^[9] In 2015 she was awarded the Anna Politkovskaya Award for her continued efforts as a journalist.^[7]