Entries for October 2008

The IWMF is accepting nominations for 2010 Courage in Journalism Awards, which honor women journalists who report under dangerous or difficult circumstances. Deadline is March 5.

Farida Nekzad, an Afghan journalist who is the recipient of a 2008 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award, is featured in U.S. News & World Report. Nekzad was interviewed about working as a journalist under threat in her country. Read the article.

Mildred Heath, a 100-year-old journalist in Nebraska, will be honored with an award from the nonprofit group Experience Words for being the oldest worker in the United States. Heath is a reporter for the Beacon-Observer newspaper, a weekly publication based in Overton. She has been working at newspapers in the state for about 85 years. Read a feature on Heath on the Beacon-Observer’s Web site.

From Vietnam to the Middle East, Edith Lederer has broken ground for women in journalism. Lederer, who has reported from every continent except Antarctica, is the 2008 IWMF Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Farida Nekzad (from left), Edith Lederer and Sevgul Uludag spoke Oct. 9 in Washington, D.C., about their struggles and triumphs as journalists.

This year's Courage and Lifetime Achievement Award winners have reported under dangerous circumstances, often risking their lives to uncover the truth about what's happening in their countries. They spoke about their experiences as journalists at a panel discussion on Oct. 9 in Washington, D.C.

View photos from the event.

Jenny Manrique, a Colombian freelance journalist, just began her year as the 2008-09 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow. She is interested in investigating Colombian paramilitaries during her fellowship.

By Peggy Simpson Jenny Manrique covered the villages where Colombia’s narco-traffickers intimidate and co-opt the locals in order to assure smooth ex...

Sevgul Uludag of Cyprus is an investigative reporter who has helped uncover the fates of people who disappeared during Greek-Turkish clashes in the 1960s and 1970s.

In her more than four decades with the Associated Press, Edith Lederer has reported from every continent except Antarctica, covering political upheaval, famine and war. From Vietnam to the Middle East, she has broken ground for women in journalism.

Sevgul Uludag, an investigative reporter for both Greek and Turkish Cypriot newspapers, has devoted herself to uncovering the fates of thousands of people who disappeared during Greek-Turkish clashes in the 1960s and 1970s. Her efforts have gained her the hatred of nationalist groups, violent attacks and death threats.

Aye Aye Win works under constant scrutiny and threat from her country’s government, yet she has opened doors to help foreign journalists in Myanmar. She often puts herself at risk, daring to report on people and events that other journalists shy away from and that her government would prefer to keep hidden.

Farida Nekzad faces constant death threats and narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt because her reporting has angered her country’s warlords. A fierce advocate for women journalists, she vows to fight for a free press and a greater voice for women in her country.