Safina Nabi, Majid Maqbool awarded for their ground breaking gender-based reportage

Srinagar: In a positive development that has brought pride to the media community in Kashmir, two journalists from the valley made it to the 10th edition of the Laadli Media and Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity 2020.

From Kashmir Majid Maqbool and Safina Nabi have been felicitated for their ground-breaking gender based reportage in the latest edition of Laadli awards.

Laadli, a campaign that works for the empowerment of women and gender equality, is an initiative of the Mumbai-based NGO Population First.

This year, some 75 people working in the media won awards and 18 received jury citations.

Majid Maqbool, writes for several Indian and international publications. His feature story “Kashmir through the female gaze” which was published in 2018 in The Hindu Magazine, won him the award for its insightful coverage of female journalists working in Kashmir.

“I tried to highlight the courageous work of some of our talented women photojournalists and the challenges they face while working in the field. They have a long way to go and many untold stories which only they can tell through their work,” said Majid.

He pointed out that Kashmir also needs more storytellers, and more collaborative work, in the visual medium.

“I’ll always look forward to their valuable work from the ground,” Majid added.

This is the second time Majid has been selected for this award. In 2014, while working as Features Editor in Greater Kashmir, he was awarded for a feature story ‘The Widows of Dardpora’, part of a series of stories published in the paper in the previous year.

Safina Nabi, who is a Pulitzer award grantee, also writes for various national and international portals. Her story, titled ‘Kashmir Trangenders: Trapped in Women body’ was published in Tehelka Magazine in 2018. It won her the award for its sensitive coverage of Trans people in Kashmir.

“Usually, we talk about Trans women, but very less attention is given to the other side of the story like a man trapped in a woman’s body,” Safina said.

She added, the idea struck her as she came across a piece from a journalist based in Bangladesh.

“I thought why not explore this theme further and highlight the challenges of the trans-men in the valley and the societal backlash they face. It took me around two months to research the story and bring in all the perspectives,” Safina said.

Safina has completed her masters from Media Education Research Center at University of Kashmir. Further, she has been a part of film project led by Vishal Bhardwaj, a Reuters fellow, and world learning alumni. (Free Press Kashmir)