The 14th Edition of the Laadli Media & Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity 2024 (Regional) occurred on 4 September at 6:30 pm at the Madhav Banquet in Thane (W). The event honoured 74 pan-India awardees for their gender-sensitive media reports. These awards were unique in the world, being the only ones focused on promoting gender sensitivity in the media.
Selection Process and Entries
Mr Yogesh Pawar, Director of Population First and leader of the Laadli media advocacy campaign, shared that they received over 798 entries in 12 languages from across India. To choose the winners, they held 29 jury meetings over the past year. The jury panels had 52 important people from different fields like education, media, journalism, social work, business, and literature, from both India and other countries.
Special Guests, Award Categories ,Performers and Organizer
Out of all the entries, 74 journalists got the Laadli Media Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity. Another 37 people received Jury Appreciation Citations. The opening act of the event featured a performance by Manipuri expert Ms Latasana Devi’s group of poor children. Singer Mr Vaibhav Mankad also performed abhangs, which are devotional songs.
Famous actor and filmmaker Renuka Shahane was the Chief Guest. Other special guests included Dr A.L. Sharada, a former director and trustee of Population First; Dolly Thakore, a well-known actor and National Coordinator for the awards; and Ms. Anuja Gulati from UNFPA. Ms. Vinaya Deshpande, a TV journalist and previous Laadli Media award winner, hosted the event.
Population First (PF), a social impact organization based in Mumbai, organized these awards. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) supported the event. PF has been working for 20 years to promote gender sensitivity in Indian media.
The organizers had invited press representatives to attend a media interaction at 4 pm, before the main ceremony. This gave journalists a chance to talk to the organizers and some of the winners.
Mr. Pawar emphasized the importance of these awards in encouraging responsible and fair reporting on gender issues. He hoped that recognizing good work would inspire more journalists to focus on gender sensitivity in their stories.
Spotlight on DNN24 and Farheen Naaz’s Story
DNN24, who brings unique stories, received a ‘Jury Appreciation Citation’ at the awards for their story about Farheen Naaz. Naaz’s NGO, We the Change, worked to make periods normal and teach both men and women about them. They used the word “menstruator” to include not just women, but also trans men and non-binary people.
Tejaswita Upadhyay, who used to work for DNN24, went to Nizam Nagar in Delhi to cover this story. She talked with Farheen Naaz about how people think about periods. DNN24 said this award motivated them to keep bringing stories of positive change to their viewers.
The Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity was an important event that celebrated good reporting on gender issues. By giving these awards, they wanted to encourage more journalists to write about gender topics sensitively. The awards showed that many reporters across India were working hard to change how people think about gender.
The event brought together people from different backgrounds – journalists, actors, social workers, and others – to support gender equality. It was not just about giving awards, but also about sharing ideas and inspiring more people to work towards gender sensitivity in the media.
DNN24’s story about Farheen Naaz was a good example of the kind of reporting the awards wanted to promote. By talking about periods openly and including all types of people who menstruate, the story helped to break taboos and spread awareness.
Overall, the Laadli Media Awards 2024 was a big success. It recognized the hard work of journalists who wrote about gender issues, encouraged more such reporting, and brought attention to important topics like menstruation awareness. The event showed that media can play a big role in changing society’s views on gender and promoting equality.
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