Journalist Nidhi Suresh has won the Kamla Mankekar Award for Journalism on Gender 2025 for a body of reporting that examined how gender shapes violence, faith, law, sport, and public life in India.
The award honours journalism that uses gender as the primary lens to report and analyse India’s social, cultural, economic, and political issues, with an emphasis on intersectional perspectives. Its scope includes themes such as gender and labour, sexuality and social marginalisation, gender in popular culture, public spaces, family dynamics, and the masculinisation of politics. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000.
Nidhi won the award for five works published in 2025.
Her longform report, Inside the twisted mind of a hired rapist, drew on months of reporting and interviews with ‘Pulsar’ Suni, convicted in the 2017 Malayalam actor sexual assault case, to examine the mindset of the perpetrator and the structures that enable gendered violence.
In Against God’s men: A nun, a bishop, and the trial of India’s Catholic Church, Nidhi reported on the aftermath of a nun’s rape allegation against Bishop Franco Mulakkal, detailing the personal and institutional costs of speaking out against patriarchal power within the Church.
Her profile on cricketer Deepti Sharma explored how the sportsperson’s journey and success resonated in her hometown, and what it meant for girls aspiring to enter a sport long shaped by gendered barriers.
In the report Bindhu Ammini: The woman who entered Sabarimala and was forced to leave Kerala, co-authored with Sukanya Shaji, the reporters traced how one of the first women to enter Sabarimala after the Supreme Court verdict faced sustained violence, harassment, and exile from her home state.
Nidhi’s video interview with advocate Vrinda Grover examined how men’s rights activism intersects with legal debates around gender, including the public framing of gender bias and concerns around Section 498A.
Instituted in memory of Kamla Mankekar, one of independent India’s pioneering journalists, the award recognises journalism that foregrounds gender as a lens to understand broader social, cultural, economic, and political questions.