Indian Journalist Neha Dixit has been honoured with the One Young World Journalist of the Year 2020 award.
One Young World is a UK-based not-for-profit organization that gathers young leaders from around the world to develop solutions to the globe’s most pressing issues.
The Award honours five young journalists – aged 35 and under – and Neha is among five across the world who have made it to the list of winners.
The awardees fearlessly and boldly inspire others through their work and they have changed the way stories are reported and empower others by giving them a voice, according to the jury.
They were selected by a panel of respected international journalists and broadcasters from a shortlist of 15 young journalists from around the world.
“Neha is an independent investigative journalist covering politics, gender, and social justice in South Asia. Her investigation on 1,200 extrajudicial killings by the Indian police led the Office of the High Commissioner for United Nations Human Rights to issue a notice to the Indian government acknowledging the custodial torture by Indian police,” award committee said.
The winners will be presented with the Award at the One Young World 2021 Summit taking place in Munich, 23-26 April.
BBC’s first LGBT Correspondent Ben Hunte (UK), journalist and human rights diffender Hamoud Al-Mousa (Syria), advocate for gender equality and LGBT rights Kiki Mordi (Nygeria) and Emmy-winning host and correspondent for VICE and VICE News Paula Ramod also won the same award along with Neha.
“Neha is currently battling criminal and defamation cases in the Indian courts for her investigations. She has been regularly subjected to physical attacks, life, and death threats for her work,” the award committee further said.
“At a time when colleagues in the media network are constantly letting us down, this is a reminder to put on the blinkers and continue doing one’s job, learn, and restrategize.” Neha took to her social media to express her feelings about the win.
She has won over a dozen international and national journalism awards in 13 years of her career, including the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Journalist (2016) and the CPJ International Press Freedom Award (2019).
