Bangladesh
Journalist, Courage in Journalism Award
Hijri 1390-Present (AH); Common Era 1970-Present (CE)
A Bangladeshi journalist, Sumi Khan works as a crime reporter and for her efforts has had to face death threats from various groups including Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the ruling political parties in Bangladesh. In 1999, while working on the Daily Jugnator in Dhaka, Khan broke a story concerning a high-ranking official raping his maid. Although the story was later picked up by other reporters, she was pushed out of her job. Undeterred, Khan continued reporting but in 2004, after reporting on politicians and their ties to attacks on minorities and on a local ring of child snatchers Khan was brutally attacked and it was months before she could return to work. Her fingers and hands were specifically targeted and broken. But return she did, in spite of a continuance of threats. She continues to work under these conditions, with a strong refusal to be intimidated by the violence that extremist groups have meted out too journalists in the past. At the magazine where she works, Weekly 2000, she is the only female news correspondent. In 2005, she traveled to London to receive the Index/Guardian Hugo Young award for her fearless journalism. She also won the International Women's Media Foundation Courage in Journalism award.
