IIOJK photojournalist Masarat Zahra receives peter Mackler award

New York, September 25, 2020 (PPI-OT): Kashmiri photojournalist, Masarat Zahra, has received the Peter Mackler prize for courageous and ethical journalism for her coverage of women impacted by decades of Indian state terrorism in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. “To work in this industry is to bring the truth,” the 26-year-old journalist said during a virtual ceremony.

“My pictures offer a glimpse of the everyday struggle of the people in Kashmir,” said Zara, who is the 12th journalist to receive the Peter Mackler prize, distributed by the Global Media Forum in partnership with Agence France Presse and Reporters Without Borders.

“It gives a voice to the ones silenced by the conflict,” she continued. Zahra said that being a Muslim woman “amplifies” her anxiety as a journalist working in such conditions – but her identity also drives her work. The award was established in 2008 to recognise courageous and ethical journalism.

“Masarat Zahra exhibits the very qualities that my late husband, Peter Mackler, fostered in the new generation of reporters whose path he crossed,” said Catherine Antoine, president of the Global Media Forum Training Group and founder of the award.

“Masarat’s complete dedication to reporting the story, no matter the risks, along with her mental fearlessness and creative approach to use any medium at her disposal to bear witness to the world made our choice easy,” Catherine added.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
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Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org