PR Washington - Two-time academy award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has won the prestigious Knight International Journalism Award 2017 for her reporting across the world for the past two decades.
Announced by the International Center for Journalists [ICFJ] in Washington, DC the award recognizes her outstanding efforts to chronicle the human toll of extremism that have made a major impact. “At great personal risk, Obaid-Chinoy and al-Masri faced terrorism head on, getting behind the scenes to chronicle untold abuses,” said ICFJ President, Joyce Barnathan.
“These reporters exemplify journalism excellence, telling stories that advance change and revealing truths that would not be uncovered, but for their efforts,” said Jennifer Preston, Knight Foundation Vice President for Journalism who also announced the winners of the Knight International Journalism Award 2017.
“It is a great honour for me to be awarded the Knight International Journalism Award. I began writing for newspapers in Pakistan when I was 14 years old and produced my first documentary film at the age of 21. Throughout my career I have strived to investigate stories that make people deeply uncomfortable, in the hope that they will spark conversations that will eventually lead to changes in attitudes,” Sharmeen said.
Sharmeen also helped found the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, a nonprofit, organization that fosters and promotes community-wide interest in the culture and history of Pakistan. Earlier this year, she was invested as the new Honorary Consul General of the Kingdom of Norway in Karachi and won the Best International Television Award at prestigious 49th Annual Robert F Kennedy Journalism Awards in May 2017 for her Academy Award Winning documentary “A Girl in the River”.