Yesterday, on November 20, Population First (a social impact organisation that works for women empowerment, gender equality and community mobilization to achieve the social and demographic goals of the country) announced the Laadli Media and Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity 2020, supported by the UNFPA. It was a clean sweep for Gaon Connection, India’s biggest rural media platform, which won seven prestigious awards at the virtual ceremony.

Senior reporter Neetu Singh bagged four Laadli Awards. She received the first award in the print category for her series ‘ Ankahi Kahaniyan (Untold Stories)’ in which she curated stories of transformation and success of ordinary women from different parts of the country, in their respective fields. 

Singh received the second award for the ‘ Hardoi Gang Rape Case ‘ and “How Many More Article 15 Cases ‘ reports under the Hindi Web category of investigative reporting. She was also awarded for her investigative story about an incident of rape in Lucknow in the English Web category. She won her fourth award in the Hindi Web category for her series on women mechanics and other craftswomen. 

The report “Who moved my village?” about the women of Sundarbans by Nidhi Jamwal, deputy managing editor of Gaon Connection, earned her the Laadli Award in the English Feature category. This story is about how in the wake of climate change, women living in the Sundarbans are facing new challenges. 

Gaon Connection’s multimedia journalist Daya Sagar received the Jury Appreciation Award under the Multimedia Web category. He received the award for his multimedia story ‘इस महिला प्रधान ने अपने गांव को बनाया डिजिटल, वाई-फाई, सीसीटीवी कैमरा और शिकायत के लिए व्हाट्सएप ग्रुप’. It is about a woman pradhan who brought about changes in her village to enable the safety and education of girls. She made her village digital and used Wi-Fi, CCTV Cameras and a WhatsApp group for Complaint Redressal.

Diti Bajpai, a former associate of Gaon Connection, has also received the Jury Appreciation Award in the English feature category for her story “No One Can Abuse in This Village, One Gets Severe Punishment” on the Talauda village in Jind district of Haryana.

You can watch the awards ceremony here-