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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2008
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For more information:
Lindsey Wray
(202) 496-1992
LWray@iwmf.org
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Washington, D.C. – The International Women's Media Foundation announced today that Aye Aye Win, a correspondent for the Associated Press in Myanmar, will receive a 2008 Courage in Journalism Award.
One of the only women journalists in Myanmar, Win, 54, works under the repressive military junta in her country. Her movements are closely monitored by authorities; her house is periodically stalked out by plainclothes police or military intelligence agents, and her telephone is often tapped. Win has been called "the axe-handle of the foreign press" by other media outlets in Myanmar because she has helped open the door for foreign journalists to report on the country.
Because she stands out among her male colleagues, Win has disguised herself on assignments by changing her hairstyle and wearing unisex outfits. Still, she risks her own safety to report. For example, when pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was travelling around the country, almost no journalists dared to follow. But Win did – until she was physically barred from continuing. When dissidents and members of Suu Kyi’s party were arrested, Win went to their family members who were watched by secret police to seek verification and details of the arrests. These activities put her high on the "watch list" of the authorities.
Win also put herself in great danger to report the news when she covered violent demonstrations against the military government in Rangoon in the fall of 2007. She did not do this from the relative safety of her home or even a hotel room overlooking the protest sites as many journalists did; instead, she walked the streets while soldiers were firing at marchers and beating up innocent bystanders.
The IWMF announced the following other 2008 Courage in Journalism Award winners in June:
- Farida Nekzad, 31, managing editor and deputy director of Pajhwok Afghan News. Despite working under tremendous pressure at a time when women journalists in particular are being threatened for their reporting in Afghanistan, Nekzad is committed to staying in her country to work toward a free press and greater equality for women journalists.
- Sevgul Uludag, 49, investigative reporter for Yeniduzen newspaper in Cyprus. Uludag lives in the northern part of divided Cyprus but through her reporting attempts to ease the segregation between the Greek and Turkish communities. In doing so, she has faced many obstacles, including death threats and violent attacks.
The IWMF also announced in June that it will present its Lifetime Achievement Award to Edith Lederer, 65, chief correspondent at the United Nations for the Associated Press. Lederer was the first female resident correspondent in Vietnam in 1972, the first woman to head an AP foreign bureau in Peru, the first AP reporter to cross the Yalu River after the Korean War and the first journalist to file the bulletin announcing the start of the first Gulf War.
For more information about these winners, please visit www.iwmf.org/courage.
Created in 1990, the IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards honor women journalists who have shown extraordinary strength of character and integrity while reporting the news under dangerous or difficult circumstances. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a woman journalist who has a pioneering spirit and whose determination has paved the way for women in the news media. Including this year’s award winners, 63 journalists have won Courage Awards and 17 journalists have been honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards. The 2008 awards will be presented at ceremonies in Los Angeles on October 16 and New York on October 21. Award winners will attend a reception and panel discussion in Washington, D.C., on October 9.
The 2008 Courage in Journalism Awards are generously supported by the Bank of America as national presenting sponsor.
Founded in 1990, the International Women's Media Foundation is a vibrant global network dedicated to strengthening the role of women in the news media worldwide as a means to further freedom of the press. The IWMF network includes women and men in the media in more than 130 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.iwmf.org.
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