Budgam: A 24 years old Kashmiri journalist, Rayees Ramzan wins The 12th Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity 2022 at Hyderabad on Nov 02, 2022.
He won the Laadli Media awards for their gender-sensitive reporting on the story, “Lack Of Menstrual Education Hygiene In Females Belonging To Rural Areas Of Kashmir”.
Rayees Ramzan, a freelance reporter hailing from a village Charari Pora of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district of Kashmir. Rayees is currently doing a Master’s degree in mass communication and journalism, has received a citation for his report on the Lack Of Menstrual Education Hygiene In Females Belonging To Rural Areas Of Kashmir’, receiving a Jury Appreciation Citation for the Hindi Web News Feature category.
An insightful piece of journalism, it brings to light an important issue that often gets sidelined amidst the socio-political happenings in the state. Rayees has also done other work on the PMAY-G Scheme, fading Kashmir’s Art Folk and other traditions at risk in India.
Rayees has worked with ETV Bharat Urdu for more than two years as well.
Sharing his experience in doing the story, he says, “I was selected for a media and journalism fellowship by Youth Ki Awaaz last year. Youth Ki Awaaz guided me like an institution throughout the fellowship. I spoke to multiple people from districts Shopian, Pulwama and Budgam for my story, and I’m glad that a critical issue like this was selected for the award. I thought this story wouldn’t happen because of the reluctance of the female menstruators to speak. There are no hospitals, we don’t have any information. People there didn’t even know what media meant. It took me a lot to convince them to share their struggles so it reaches the people of the country.”