CHANDIGARH: The Indian Express Special Correspondent Hina Rohtaki has won the Jethmalani Prize for Journalism - The Will of Steel Awards in the Empowerment category at a ceremony held at NDMC Convention Centre, New Delhi, on Friday.
A member of Chandigarh Press Club Hina Rohtaki received a Copper Medal and an award purse of ₹1, 11, 000 ($1, 400).
The award has been constituted to honour the birth centenary year of eminent lawyer and parliamentarian Ram Jethmalani.
Hina got the award for her series highlighting the struggles faced by COVID widows, who lost their husbands and the sole breadwinners to COVID-19.
She brought to light how the families not just battled the virus or the void in their lives but also faced an uphill battle against bureaucratic indifference.
The stories brought out how for these widows, life had transformed into an unrelenting struggle with their children who were compelled to take on part-time jobs, either to support their educational aspirations or to sustain their families.
The series was published in Indian Express.
The Jury for the Awards includes; Justice Sharad A Bobde, Former Chief Justice of India (Jury Chair), Dr Harivansh Narayan Singh, Deputy Chairperson, Rajya Sabha, Dr Sasmit Patra, Rajya Sabha MP, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Founder, Biocon, Prof Madhav Nalapat, Editorial Director, The Sunday Guardian, Raghu Rai, Photographer, Shekhar Mehta, Former President, Rotary International, Kalyani Shankar, Senior Journalist and Atul Kasbekar, Photographer.
Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud presided over The Ram Jethmalani Memorial Lecture (Centenary Edition). The Guest of honour was Union Minister for Law Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Hina had earlier won Ram Nath Goenka Award for excellence in Journalism.