As an aspiring journalist on The Hewitt Times, I’ve taken for granted our country’s constitutional right of freedom of speech. As a student in an all-girls school, I was unaware of the extremity of the dangers that women face around the world in places like Cambodia, Afghanistan, Syria and Zimbabwe, to cover a story, until I attended the International Women’s Media Foundation awards dinner in New York City.
On October 22, Julia Wolinsky ’14 and I were given the opportunity to attend the small gathering the night before the IWMF awarded four women from four different countries. The Courage in Journalism Award is given to women who show outstanding bravery in covering news stories. The four women awarded have similar experiences working in journalism: their lives and the lives of their families have been threatened numerous times.
Three of the four Courage in Journalism awardees
from left: Ms. Machirori, Ms. Ayubi, and Ms. Phorn
One of the awardees Najiba Ayubi, from Afghanistan, is the director of the Killid group, an independent, nonprofit media organization in Kabul. She explained that as the Taliban ruled her country, many of her friends and family told her to stop writing because it was too dangerous. Ayubi uncovered a story on a scandal which reported that body guards of members of the Afghani Parliament had opened fire in a local Afghani hospital. As a result of her coverage, gunmen arrived at her house warning her “to be careful” and that someone may be after her. Despite continuing threats, Ayubi does not hesitate to report on stories that she thinks are important to tell the world.
Noure Kelze, a Syrian photojournalist, was unable to attend the event due to the difficulty of traveling from Syria to the US, as a result of the ongoing crisis in Syria. However, we were able to hear Kelze’s inspiring story.
Kelze was once an elementary school teacher, but in 2012, as conflicts in her country arose, she started taking photos on her phone of rebel fighters. Her photos began appearing in newspapers across the world. Kelze was shot at by soldiers from an aircraft after taking photos of the aftermath of a missile attack in a residential area; she was injured after a wall toppled down on her as snipers shot at rebels, yet four days later she was back in action snapping away.
In a video message viewed during the awards, Ms. Kelze said:
“This award is for Syria — for standing strong still after all the hardships since the past till the present day and even in the future. Syria will survive […] let the whole world know. We will survive.”
The Lifetime achievement award went to Edna Machirori from Zimbabwe. She has written for top newspapers like The Chronicle, The Financial Gazette, and The Daily News. She is Zimbabwe’s first black female newspaper editor. Machirori, a 50 year veteran of the profession, has faced several challenges in Zimbabwe as a woman. In her country, she says, women “must be seen but not heard.” On top of the gender prejudice, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has named Zimbabwe one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. Despite the patriarchal culture of her country, Machiori has made amazing strides in her life and has risen to the top of her field.
The final awardee, Bopha Phorn, from Cambodia, really touched me. She walked up to the podium with a huge grin across her face. At 28 years old, Phorn has faced unimaginable obstacles. While covering a story about illegal logging in the Cambodian jungle, a group of armed men ambushed her, her co-worker, and an accompanying environmentalist, Chut Wutty. Wutty was killed in this attack, but Phorn and her co-worker were able to escape. She said that she wrote her editor’s phone number on her stomach, thinking that they too would be killed. Despite this near-death experience, Phorn has continued to write articles about the corruption of her government. Her passion for telling stories will not be hinged by this incident or other threats. Phorn stated,
“Journalism is in my blood, bones, and flesh, it is a part of me.”
The stories of these truly courageous women have empowered me to continue to fight for women’s rights. I am inspired to help budding journalists like Ms. Phorn, Ms, Ayubi, Ms Kelze, and Ms. Machirori, who fight courageously to have their voices heard by using their words.