Wazhmah Osman

Wazhmah Osman is an Afghan-American filmmaker. She is currently a Jack Shaheen Fellow at New York University and an assistant professor in the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University.

In her book Television and the Afghan Culture Wars: Brought to You by Foreigners, Warlords, and Activists (University of Illinois Press, 2020), Osman analyzes the impact of international funding and cross-border media flows on the national politics of Afghanistan, the region, and beyond. She is also the co-director of the critically acclaimed documentary "Postcards from Tora Bora" and the co-author of the forthcoming Afghanistan: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press).

Osman’s research and teaching are rooted in feminist media ethnographies that focus on the political economy of global media industries and the regimes of representation and visual culture they produce.

Beyond academia, Osman has appeared as a commentator on Democracy Now, WNYC, NPR, and Al Jazeera and works with community and activist groups.

Prior to starting her graduate studies, she worked for more than a decade in television and film production for major American and international media institutions and as an independent journalist and filmmaker. Her films have screened in diverse venues, ranging from human rights organizations to global film festivals.