Women journalists from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Sudan and U.S. recognized for bravery in reporting

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) announced the recipients of its 36^th annual Courage in Journalism Awards, honoring women who have reported under duress to expose the truth. The 2025 honorees are Sana Atef, operating under a pseudonym from Afghanistan; Juliana Dal Piva, a Brazilian investigative journalist; Yousra Elbagir, a Sudanese British international broadcast journalist; and U.S. Mexican news service founder Maritza L. Félix.

Azerbaijani journalist Aynur Elgunesh – the editor-in-chief of Meydan TV – received the IWMF's 2025 Wallis Annenberg Justice for Women Journalists Award, which is given each year to a journalist who is unjustly detained, jailed or imprisoned. Arrested on fabricated charges of smuggling, Elgunesh remains in prison under life-threatening conditions, silenced by a regime that fears her reporting.

For journalists worldwide, the challenges to report – and the decline of press freedom – mean risking their careers and their lives. For more than three decades, the IWMF's Courage in Journalism Awards have highlighted remarkable achievements in reporting that help global audiences better understand our world and expose otherwise hidden truths.

"The IWMF honors Aynur, Juliana, Maritza, Sana and Yousra this year because of the lengths they've gone to report and the odds they've faced to cover issues that define today's world," said IWMF Executive Director Elisa Lees Muñoz. "In a time when press freedom is under siege, the courage of these women cuts through silence and fear. Journalism like theirs doesn't just inform – it defends democracy."

Sana Atef, risks arrest or death each time she files a story for one of the last remaining non-state news outlets in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Juliana Dal Piva has been sued, harassed and threatened for uncovering corruption and human rights abuses in Brazil's halls of power. Broadcast journalist Yousra Elbagir has covered warzones across Africa – including in her native Sudan – while navigating danger and displacement. Maritza L. Félix launched an independent news service from her kitchen table to amplify and inform migrant voices.

"These year's Courage Award winners have inspired remarkable impact while facing retaliation in the world's most dangerous places to report," said the selection committee of the 2025 IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards. "Each awardee has persevered to tell the stories of people who have been censored and repressed with care and fortitude. It is an honor to recognize these five women for their outstanding contributions to journalism."

The Courage in Journalism Awards are made possible by Bank of America, the awards' National Presenting Sponsor for 19 consecutive years. The IWMF would like to thank Bank of America for its commitment to journalism and the pursuit of press freedom.

The 2025 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winners will be recognized during a luncheon in New York City, on November 10^th, an evening reception in Washington, D.C., on November 16^th, and an evening reception in Los Angeles, on November 18^th. For more information about attending or sponsoring the Courage Awards, please contact us at: courage@iwmf.org.

About the 2025 Courage in Journalism Award Winners

Sana Atef (Afghanistan) ­– Zan Times

Sana Atef reports under a pseudonym for the Zan Times in Afghanistan, covering the harassment of women heads-of-households, child and forced marriages, the struggles of women health workers and women with disabilities, the stories of nomadic women, and the abuse children are facing under Taliban rule. Since 2022 her reporting has revealed the human toll of the regime's policies, including how women are dying in silence.

Atef's work is regularly co-published by international media outlets and has become the voice of women in her province. Her reporting is often cited as a quiet defiance that honors the lives of those who can no longer speak for themselves.

Prior to her work with Zan Times, Atef studied political science with aspirations to represent the women of her province in the south, one of the most conservative provinces in Afghanistan. She previously received the Women's Prize for Journalism by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting.

Atef said to the IWMF: "With the return of the Taliban, I felt a moral responsibility to report from under a regime of gender apartheid. In a country where women are denied the most basic rights, our existence becomes an act of resistance. Without media freedom, there can be no justice, and without justice, no peace."

Atef continued: "In the darkest time of my life, receiving the IWMF Courage Award is a light – an affirmation that our work, and our country, matters. By accepting this award, I congratulate my brave colleagues at Zan Times who continue this journey with strength and dedication, and every woman in Afghanistan who continues to live, resist and hope in the face of adversity."

Read more of Atef's story here.

Juliana Dal Piva (Brazil) – Latin American Center for Journalistic Investigation and ICL Notícias
Instagram: @juliana.dalpiva, X: @julianadalpiva

Juliana Dal Piva is an investigative journalist reporting for the Latin American Center for Journalistic Investigations (CLIP) and a columnist with ICL Notícias. She previously served as a special reporter for the newspaper O Globo and as a columnist for UOL.

Dal Piva has extensively covered human rights violations across Brazil. Her master's thesis investigating the disappearance, torture and murder of Congressman Rubens Paiva was later adapted into the book Crime sem castigo: como os militares mataram Rubens Paiva. The book gained international attention after the 2024 release of the Oscar-winning film "I'm Still Here," which chronicled the life of Paiva's widow, Eunice Paiva. Following the film's debut, Dal Piva's book appeared on Brazil's bestseller list.

Since 2018, Dal Piva's reporting on the Bolsonaro family has assisted public authorities with investigating the family's criminal business dealings. In 2020, Bolsonaro's eldest son was formally accused of multiple crimes and further investigations were opened into former President Jair Bolsonaro's other children and ex-wives.

Dal Piva has been nominated five times for the Gabriel García Marquez Journalism Award and has received other accolades, including the 2019 Relatoría para la Libertad de Expresión (RELE) award and the 2024 Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) award as part of the team behind the Narco Files project.

Dal Piva remarked: "Journalism must be synonymous with building knowledge. That's what I work toward every day and that's why I join those who defend freedom of the press and, above all, democratic ideals."

Dal Piva continued: "The IWMF's recognition of my work is deeply affecting. Brazil is a very large country – almost a continent. I never imagined that my family and I would face the challenges that have surfaced throughout my career, so having my work honored by the IWMF makes a huge difference."

Read more of Dal Piva's story here.

Yousra Elbagir (Sudan / United Kingdom) – Sky News
Instagram: @yousraelbagir, X: @YousraElbagir

Yousra Elbagir is the Africa correspondent for Sky News, covering major events and stories across the continent from natural disasters to civil unrest and political movements. Before joining Sky News, Elbagir was a foreign news reporter for Channel 4 News and an international correspondent for VICE News Tonight on HBO.

Recently, Elbagir led the only television news crew to document the fall of Goma – the regional capital of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo – to M23 rebels backed by Rwanda. In the past year, her reports from the frontlines of Sudan's war have broadcast massive scenes of devastation inside a global humanitarian crisis.

Born into a family of Sudanese journalists (including her sister Nima Elbagir, a 2018 IWMF Courage Award winner), Elbagir moved back to Khartoum in 2015 to cover underreported issues in the country. In 2019, she reported on the Sudanese Revolution while working for Channel 4 News. Since April 2023, Yousra has chronicled the current war in Sudan, which has displaced more than 13 million people, including her own family.

Elbagir's work has been nominated for both Emmy and Royal Television Society awards, and in 2016, she received the Thompson Foundation's Young Journalist Award for her in-depth reporting on the effect of U.S. sanctions against Sudan.

Elbagir said: "Our job as journalists is to reveal the truth and inform the public. Sometimes, it's about exposing the misdeeds of the powerful. Other times, it's about capturing the scale and depth of human suffering. Our job is also getting more difficult: Information wars and contempt for legacy media is growing by the day, which makes our job even more important."

Elbagir followed: "It is an honor to receive the IWMF Courage Award and join the ranks of such incredible women journalists. The courage to share the truth in our polarized world is at the heart of public service journalism and to be recognized for it is truly affirming – it gives me faith that people are listening."

Read more of Elbagir's story here.

Martiza L. Félix (United States / Mexico) ­– Conecta Arizona
Instagram: @maritzafelixjournalist, X: @MaritzaLFelix

Committed to community-driven journalism, award-winning freelance journalist, producer and writer Martiza L. Félix bridges cultures and borders with her reporting.

Félix is the founder and director of Spanish-language news service Conecta Arizona, where she leads coverage on immigration and social issues affecting Arizona and cross-border populations in Sonora, Mexico. Conecta Arizona was launched during the pandemic to combat misinformation and provide verified information to local communities. The project now includes a podcast (Cruzando Líneas), a weekly radio show, a newsletter and social media, reaching more than 150,000 people monthly.

Félix is also the co-producer and co-host of Comadres al Aire and a senior fellow in the JSK Community Impact Fellowship at Stanford.

During her career Félix has worked extensively in both the United States and Mexico, and her reporting has taken her on assignment to Ecuador, Guatemala, Italy, Israel and Spain. Her productions have been featured on Univisión, Telemundo, HBO Max, Al Jazeera, The Nation and Slate, among many others new outlets.

Félix has been recognized with five Emmy awards and multiple Arizona Press Club honors, among other accolades. In 2022, she received the Cecilia Vaisman Award from Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, as well as the Local Media Association's Innovator of the Year in Content and Audience.

Félix commented: "I am a Mexican. I am Latina. I am an immigrant. Everything I am is being challenged right now, but my identity is my superpower. For me, journalism involves following stories for years, not days – it's about reclaiming the narrative of the border as a place of resilience, hope and community."

Félix continued: "Press freedom is the heartbeat of democracy. Without it, we can suffocate under the weight of misinformation. I am deeply honored to be recognized for my work with the IWMF Courage Award. This award belongs to every migrant journalist who has ever felt overlooked and to all of us who believe in the power of local stories."

Read more of Félix's story here.

About the 2025 Wallis Annenberg Justice for Women Journalists Award Winner

Aynur Elgunesh (Azerbaijan) – Meydan TV

For the past 11 years Aynur Elgunesh has worked at Meydan TV in Azerbaijan – where she is now the editor-in-chief – leading coverage on human rights, political repression and social justice. Before her time at Meydan TV, Elgunesh worked at some of the country's most lauded independent media outlets, including Jumhuriyyet, Gundelik Azerbaijan and Azadlıq, among others.

From human trafficking to the rights of displaced people and government corruption, Elgunesh's investigative reporting and advocacy for media freedom has earned widespread recognition. In 2014 she received the Hasan Bey Zardabi Award and the OSCE Award for Journalists, and in 2009 she won the Media Key Award for Journalist of the Year.

In 2022, Elgunesh also directed a documentary short chronicling life as an internally displaced person from Nagorno-Karabakh: The film, "Shadowed by the Plane Tree," premiered at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Elgunesh has also taught at the Baku Journalism School and Baku Slavyan University.

On December 6, 2024, Elgunesh and six other Meydan TV journalists were arrested on fabricated charges of criminal activity. Elgunesh, who has a disability, was handled roughly by police when arrested at her home. With her life under immediate threat, she remains imprisoned at the Baku Investigative Detention Center amid an ongoing investigation with an uncertain outcome.

Elgunesh commented from prison: "Journalism is more than a profession; it's a way of life and responsibility I've embraced with conviction. To be a journalist in Azerbaijan is one of the most difficult and risky professions. And to be a woman journalist is to carry an even heavier burden – not only political repression and censorship, but also deeply rooted gender stereotypes."

Elgunesh continued: "Receiving this award means a great deal. It's an acknowledgment of the work I have dedicated my life to, even when it comes at a high personal cost. I hope this recognition helps draw more attention to what's happening in Azerbaijan and to the many other journalists who continue to speak out despite the risks."

Read more of Elgunesh's story here.

About the International Women's Media Foundation
The IWMF is the only global organization built to serve the holistic needs of women and nonbinary journalists. We are a bold and inclusive organization that supports journalists where they are with awards, reporting opportunities, fellowships, grants, safety training and emergency aid. As one of the largest supporters of women-produced journalism, our transformative work strengthens equal opportunity and press freedom worldwide. Follow the IWMF on Twitter at @IWMF, on Facebook at @IWMFPage, on Instagram on @TheIWMF and on TikTok @theiwmf.

Media Contact:
Charlotte Fox
cfox@iwmf.org 

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SOURCE The International Women's Media Foundation