Sadiya Ansari brings a transnational lens to stories of displacement and identity, currently serving as LGBTQ+ Commissioning Editor (Africa/Asia) for Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Context platform. Based in London, her award-winning work bridges policy analysis with intimate narratives of marginalized communities.
“Redefines memoir as historical intervention” — Samra Habib, author of We Have Always Been Here
We’ve followed Sadiya Ansari’s evolution from a Canadian newsroom journalist to an internationally recognized voice on marginalized communities. Her career began at Maclean’s and The Globe and Mail, where she honed her ability to dissect systemic inequities. A pivotal shift occurred when she joined the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Context platform as LGBTQ+ Commissioning Editor for Africa and Asia, positioning her at the nexus of human rights reporting and policy analysis.
This 11-minute read exposes how Kenya’s fading status as an LGBTQ+ refuge forces asylum seekers into dangerous alternatives like South Sudan. Ansari combines UNHCR data with harrowing first-person accounts of refugees facing sexual extortion and bureaucratic limbo. Her methodology blends policy analysis with intimate portraits, revealing how anti-sodomy laws in 31 African nations create impossible choices. The piece sparked dialogue among EU asylum policymakers about regional protection mechanisms.
In this investigative report, Ansari documents the erosion of Kenya’s refugee protections through a six-month tracking of LGBTQ+ asylum centers. She uncovers how delayed status determinations (averaging 3.7 years) force refugees into urban slums where they face “corrective rape” threats. The article’s impact metrics show a 217% spike in donations to Nairobi-based Rainbow Rights after publication.
Blending memoir with economic analysis, this piece traces how gold functions as informal banking for South Asian women facing financial disenfranchisement. Ansari interviews three generations of her family alongside IMF data on India’s $1.2T private gold holdings. The article became a viral touchstone, cited in Canada’s 2025 Gender-Based Analysis+ budget framework.
Ansari’s work on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act demonstrates her preference for grounding legislative analysis in personal narratives. Successful pitches should pair legal experts with individuals directly impacted, as seen in her February 2025 dating app piece where she juxtaposed African tech CEOs with queer users’ safety strategies.
Her Chatelaine gold article template shows receptiveness to stories examining tradition’s modern adaptations. Pitches might explore how diaspora communities reinterpret practices like dowries or arranged marriages in LGBTQ+ contexts, particularly through a financial equity lens.
With her memoir’s focus on Partition’s legacy, Ansari seeks stories connecting historical events to current migration patterns. A strong pitch might examine how India’s Citizenship Amendment Act affects Pakistani Hindu refugees through a gender lens, mirroring her approach in Context’s Syrian refugee coverage.
“A triumphant debut...insightful, surprising, and beautifully written.” — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review of In Exile)
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Socioeconomic Inclusion!, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
