ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The recipient of the sixth annual Shifa Gardi Award is CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward, known for her bravery in reporting from some of the world’s most dangerous front lines in recent years.
The prize, which honors the memory of Rudaw Media Network’s anchor Shifa Gardi who was killed in Mosul while covering a mass killing by Islamic State (ISIS) militants, is awarded annually to a female journalist for exhibiting particular bravery in reporting on conflicts.
The award committee announced in a statement on Sunday that it chose Ward as this year’s recipient of the prize for her remarkable work reporting from warzones, most recently in Gaza where she covered “human stories from both sides of the conflict with the world.”
This year, the award ceremony took place during a special TV bulletin from the site of Shifa Gardi’s death.
In a video message, Ward said she was “truly humbled to be receiving this award and particularly because it was created in the memory of the brave and inspirational Shifa Gardi who so tragically lost her life doing the job she loved so much.”
She added that she felt “privileged” to be the winner of the award which has been given to other leading international female journalists.
Ward has established her reputation as an ethical and compassionate reporter, delivering human stories of war from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Georgia, and Ukraine. Her work has made her won her numerous prominent journalism awards.
“Women are some of the toughest and the most compassionate war correspondents out there,” she said in her acceptance speech.
Ward was on the ground in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022 and was the first Western journalist to be granted access on the ground in Gaza where she reported on the situation in field hospitals.
“At the end of an assignment, we get on a plane, and we go home when so many of our colleagues in Gaza, in Syria, in Iraq, in Kurdistan do not,” she said, noting the privilege Western journalists enjoy in comparison to those reporting from their home countries engulfed in conflict.
As a testament of her important work as a journalist on the ground in Syria, Ward spoke at a UN Security Council meeting in 2016 on the situation in Aleppo, shedding light on the dire situation the city was in.
In addition to reporting from the front lines, Ward was also part of a crucial joint Emmy award-winning investigation by CNN and Bellingcat into the poisoning and spying of the late Alexey Navalny.
In 2020, Ward published her book titled “On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist” detailing her experiences and how she rose to become a world-renowned reporter.
Remembering Shifa Gardi
Adrian Wells, a member of the award's jury and Managing Director at ENEX, said in a video message said that Ward ‘exemplifies all of the amazing qualities that Shifa had and those qualities that are recognized in this award.”
He noted that the award comes at a pivotal time in terms of news coverage, as war rages on in Gaza and Ukraine.
“Her courage and her commitment serve as an inspiration to us all,” Ward said of Gardi.
“Female reporters often bring an extra degree of humanity, of empathy, to their reporting and Shifa certainly did that and every recipient of this award since its foundation has certainly done that,” Wells added.
Rob Beynon is another member of the jury.
Beynon recalled that his media company, DMA, trained Rudaw’s producers, reporters and presenters, including Gardi.
“I really want to give a shout out now to all my colleagues at Rudaw and applaud the incredible work that you have done over many years covering some of the most difficult and dangerous conflicts often in your own backyard," Ward said, congratulating Rudaw Media Network for its coverage over the past decade.
2023 was on the deadliest years for journalists around the world, with at least 99 reported killed, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Over three-quarters of the deaths were related to the war in Gaza.
"Gardi's killing underscores the high price journalists have to pay everyday to report what's happening for the world to witness,"
Doja Daoud, CPJ's MENA respresentative, told Rudaw.
Between 2014 and 2020, the CPJ recorded 38 killings of journalists in Iraq, the majority being killed during the fight against ISIS.
At least 88 journalists have been killed in the Gaza war since October 7.
In Iraq, the CPJ has not recorded any killings of journalists in the past three years but press freedom is facing a "dramatic decline." In the Kurdistan Region, three journalists are still imprisoned while many others face daily hurdles.