Varanasi Press Club Honours 10 Women Journalists at Independence Day Event

Ten women journalists were honoured at Paradkar Smriti Bhavan during an Independence Day programme organised by the Varanasi Press Club, placing the work of women in local newsrooms at the centre of an evening that also included student awards and announcements for the press community.

MLC Annapurna Singh opened the programme by lighting the ceremonial lamp. Among those named in the local account were Dr Prabha Rani, Meera Vohra, Manisha Chaurasia, Nidhi Mishra and Kajal Seth, with ten women journalists recognised in all. Students Ankita Chaudhary and Aryan Chaudhary were presented certificates for strong performance in board examinations.

Annapurna Singh used the occasion to recall the role of journalists in the freedom movement and spoke about women’s contribution to family, society and national life. She also announced that a solar power system would be installed at Paradkar Smriti Bhavan from her development fund. If completed, that investment could reduce operating costs and provide more reliable power for a building used by working reporters and professional bodies.

Mayor Ashok Tiwari proposed a competitive photography project on the “changing face of Kashi.” Press Club president Chandan Rupani accepted the idea, and the mayor said outstanding photographers would receive cash awards. Such a contest can be more than promotional if the brief remains broad enough to include disappearing neighbourhoods, civic pressures and ordinary residents alongside new infrastructure.

The ceremony also acknowledged hospital administrator Dr Brijesh Kumar after a separate counter was opened for journalists at SSPG Hospital. Representatives of Kashi Kirana Vyapar Mandal were recognised for arranging fire extinguishers at the association building. These additions gave the event a practical dimension: occupational support, building safety and energy infrastructure matter to journalists who often work irregular hours under deadline pressure.

Honouring women journalists is meaningful when recognition is followed by safer assignments, fair pay, leadership opportunities and action against harassment. Local reporting demands late travel, field access and the confidence to question powerful institutions. Newsrooms and press bodies should therefore pair ceremonial awards with clear complaint systems, mentoring and professional training.

Varanasi’s public memory has long been shaped by writers, printers, photographers and reporters working from its lanes and institutions. The Independence Day gathering celebrated that inheritance without treating journalism as only a male profession. The stronger legacy of the event will be measured over the coming year: whether the promised solar project and photography competition materialise, and whether the ten women recognised at Paradkar Smriti Bhavan are joined by more women with real influence inside the city’s newsrooms.