Northwestern Qatar student Shrijan Pandey was selected for the prestigious 2024 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellowships, which support students undertaking international reporting projects focused on underreported global issues.
Pandey, a rising junior in the Journalism and Strategic Communication Program, will spend the summer in Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, producing a documentary and journalistic piece on how women working in diverse areas of the informal economy in Nepal are being exploited for their labor.
“I was inspired by my mother, my hero and the bravest woman I know, who raised our family of four alone by knitting handicraft items,” said Pandey. “Through the years, I have seen her and her female colleagues mistreated, exploited, and cheated, mostly by middlemen and companies who then falsely market their products as ethically procured and reflective of women empowerment initiatives.”
By reporting on these struggles and experiences, Pandey hopes to amplify their voices and highlight their resilience. “This project is a dream come true and a journalistic attempt to honor and redeem all the hardships women like my mom have gone through. Despite all the backlash and treachery, these women have stood strong, built resilience, and overcome immeasurable hardships for their families,” he added.
“Our partnership with the Pulitzer Centre strategically offers our student journalists an opportunity to put their learning into practice,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “This initiative sheds light on critical issues from the Global South that remain underreported in the mainstream media, allowing our students to stay true to their commitment to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities in the region.”
Northwestern Qatar students have received numerous grants for international reporting projects as the only international partner in Pulitzer Center’s Campus Consortium. Previous projects have focused on issues at the intersection of society, culture, politics, and economics across the Global South.
Founded in 2006, the Pulitzer Center provides financial and editorial support, training, and collaboration networks for journalists to pursue in-depth, high-impact reporting projects around the world. To learn more about the Pulitzer Center, click here.
