Kholoud ALHemaidi

Kholoud Johar ALHemaidi is a Qatari broadcaster, journalist and Head of Presenters at Qatar Radio’s general service. Beginning at Popular Radio in 1997 and later moving to Qatar Radio, she developed into a versatile presenter of live and recorded programmes, news and reports, while also writing on social issues for the press.

In her fourth decade when the biography was documented, she was married and the mother of three children, balancing family responsibilities with a public broadcasting career.

Her mother died two months after her birth, leaving her and a sister one year older in the care of a devoted aunt. Still only a secondary-school graduate, the aunt refused marriage and built a stable home for the two girls and her younger siblings after the grandmother died less than two weeks after her eldest daughter. She later graduated in English. When the broadcaster was twelve, a younger widowed aunt named Hissa and her two sons joined the household. The aunt who raised them remained the family’s centre, helped her brothers marry and devoted herself to the children of her late sisters. She was also her niece’s teacher at Fatima Al-Zahra Intermediate School and encouraged her through secondary school and a bachelor’s degree in the history of education.

School radio was her first academy. From primary school onwards, she took part in morning assembly almost every day, continuing through preparatory and secondary education. The experience revealed a talent that she believes must first be discovered and then refined through study and practice, much like the work of an artist, actor, singer or poet.

Broadcasting eventually took her across cultural and social subjects, live and recorded programmes, news bulletins and reports. That range made her a comprehensive presenter and supported her progression into leadership as Head of Presenters.

Broadcasting was not her only medium. Under the supervision of writer Jamal Fayez, she wrote the weekly ‘Passion of a Pen’ column for Al-Raya. Before social media became widespread, the column used everyday situations to address issues facing citizens and residents and drew attention to subjects occupying public opinion. Readers followed it closely and sometimes telephoned to say how directly the writing reflected their concerns. She regards the column as an important stage of her life, although the difficulty of sustaining a weekly commitment eventually led her to stop.

She is proud to have been the last Qatari presenter to join Popular Radio, entering it in 1997. The station focused on Qatari and Gulf society, with particular attention to Gulf, Yemeni and Iraqi heritage and song. Its smaller transmission reach and use of colloquial Arabic made it a close and approachable environment in which to refine her talent. Amal Al-Langawi, who later moved to Al Jazeera, and Jabr Al-Fayyad, a presenter specialising in public and local programming, encouraged her. The engineering staff also supported her through her early uncertainty before the microphone, while colleagues Khaled Al-Maliki and Ali Al-Zawadi urged her to continue steadily.

When she entered radio at the end of the 1990s, sections of society regarded the public media appearance of a Qatari woman as contrary to custom. The resistance reached her family, and the aunt who had raised her initially rejected the profession despite her own education. Another late aunt, the broadcaster Hissa Khamis, had worked in the field before her. She nevertheless persisted and continued towards the career she wanted.

After Popular Radio closed in 2002 as part of Qatar Radio, she moved to the main station. She entered as a presenter and eventually became Head of Presenters. The transition from colloquial speech to Modern Standard Arabic was one of the principal challenges. Dr Ilham Badr supported her through that change and continued doing so after the leadership appointment, while Amani Kamel played an important part in strengthening her command of formal Arabic.

In the leadership role, she brought a younger generation into Qatar Radio and worked to give the station renewed energy. Integrated young presenters were recruited to receive experience from the older generation, while those under her supervision were encouraged to approach cultural and social subjects with impartiality, knowledge and professional discipline.