Shahina K. K., alternatively KK Shahina or Shahina Nafeesa,[1] is a veteran Indian journalist who has worked across print and broadcast media to shed light on issues such as gender, human rights, and marginalized communities, along with the injustices they face.[2] She is a Senior Editor Outlook Magazine,[3] and a contributor for The Washington Post.[4] She is among the four winners of the CPJ International Press Freedom Awards this year from different continents all over the world. She is the fourth Indian to achieve this recognition.[5] She was conferred with the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Mediapersons in 2011.[6] She is also a participant as an activist in the Kiss of Love movement against moral policing in India.[7] Based in the state of Kerala, she is frequently cited by various mainstream media networks on issues related to gender equality and women's rights.[8][9][10]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/K_k_shahina.jpg/220px-K_k_shahina.jpg)
Shahina was associated with OPEN magazine between 2011 and 2020,[11] was a former correspondent of Tehelka magazine,[12] and began her career as an Asianet News reporter.[13]
She was arrested through the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for reporting on police misconduct in an investigation in the state of Karnataka,[14] been subjected to anonymous rape threats,[15] and false reporting by the Bharatiya Janata Party affiliated newspaper Janmabhumi that she was an accused in a bomb blast case.[3]
Early life and education
Shahina was born in Konathukunnu, a small town near Kodungallur in Thrissur District, Kerala. She hails from a middle-class Muslim family. She was born to Kayamkulam Kunjumarakkar, a school teacher, and Nafeesa, a housewife.[2] She is the youngest among five brothers and three sisters in her family. She used to participate in student activist movements and protests in her early college days. Shahina completed her post-graduation from Sree Kerala Varma College, Thrissur. She holds a PG Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from Kerala Press Academy, Kochi, and an LLB Degree from Government Law College Ernakulam. She also possesses a PG Diploma in Human Rights Law from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.[16]
Work
She started her career in Asianet Television, the first satellite TV Channel in Malayalam in 1997.[17] She has worked as News Presenter, Reporter and broadcast journalist for ten years. She gained popularity with her unique style of live television anchoring and field reporting.[18] She played a leadership role in intervening in the problems of women in visual media in Kerala and building a community. In 2002, she won the state government award for the best TV reporter.[19] However, Shahina rejected the award in protest of the atrocities committed by the then government against Asianet Wayanad correspondent Ramdas and Madhyamam correspondent PK Prakash.[19] Shahina was the first woman reporter in print and TV to win the award within 20 years of its inception. She was the news editor in charge when she resigned from Asianet.
Shahina was always keen to work in print media. She joined Janayugom in 2007 as National Bureau Chief where she covered all the political developments in the national capital and wrote a weekly column on national politics. She resigned from Janayugom in 2008.[16]
Shahina joined Tehelka in 2010 as Special Correspondent.[20] She covered the rural areas of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka with unique investigative stories.[21] The story on Thalaikkoothal -a geronticide practice in rural Tamil Nadu- won Shahina the Chameli Devi Jain award for the best woman reporter of the country in 2010.[22] The story is cited in several international academic journals.[23][24] She joined Open Magazine in 2011 as Associate Editor.[25] She did a spectrum of stories ranging from the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case[26] to the menstrual apartheid practices among the tribal hamlets of Kerala as an out station correspondent of a national magazine.[27] She joined the federal as Associate Editor in 2020. She is now working as a Senior Editor in Outlook Magazine.[28]
Family
Shahina is settled in Kakkanad, Ernakulam. Her husband, Rajeev Ramachandran is an author, veteran sports journalist and an audio-visual translator.[29]
References
- ^ "സ്വന്തം സ്റ്റോറിക്ക് ഇരുപത്തിനാല് മണിക്കൂറിന്റെ എങ്കിലും ആയുസ്സ് ഉണ്ടാകേണ്ടേ?" [Shahina KK asks mediapersons if their story can last at least 24 hours?]. Deshabhimani (in Malayalam). 15 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Shahina K.K., India". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ a b Jayarajan, Sreedevi (17 September 2020). "Kerala scribe to take legal action after right wing paper falsely calls her blast accused". The News Minute. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ Masih, Niha (14 April 2020). "Aggressive testing, contact tracing, cooked meals: How the Indian state of Kerala flattened its coronavirus curve". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Journalist Shahina KK wins International Press Freedom Award 2023". The News Minute. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "Shahina of Open magazine conferred Chameli Devi award". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. 15 March 2011.
- ^ "Kiss of Love relevant: activists". The Hindu. 21 November 2015. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ Atholi, Nilena (20 February 2020). "അനുവാദമില്ലാതെ ആണിന് ലൈംഗികത ആസ്വദിക്കാവുന്ന ഒന്നല്ല ഭാര്യ" [A wife is not something a man can enjoy without permission]. Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ Kurian, Shiba (21 November 2019). "Apathy vs Empowerment: Did Indian media fail to take 'Me Too' stories forward?". The News Minute. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ Ameerudheen, T. A. (31 March 2017). "As pressure mounts, Kerala TV channel apologises for airing sleaze clip that forced minister to quit". Scroll.in. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Shahina KK, Author at Open The Magazine". Open. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Police in India must drop charges against Tehelka reporter". Committee to Protect Journalists. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ Saxena, Nikita; Dev, Atul. "Asianet News proved its credibility despite Rajeev Chandrashekar's attempts at interference". The Caravan. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ Vishwanath, Apurva (31 August 2018). "Congress criticises arrests of activists — under a law it had introduced & strengthened". ThePrint. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ Kurian, Shiba (5 October 2018). "Kerala journo files two complaints against Kuwait-based man for issuing rape threats". The News Minute. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Shahina K K's Profile | Outlook (India) Journalist | Muck Rack". muckrack.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "Asianet News". india.mom-gmr.org. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "മലയാള ടെലിവിഷനിലെ ആദ്യകാല മാധ്യമപ്രവർത്തകമാർ". Kerala Women (in Malayalam). 29 February 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ a b "ചാനല് അടുക്കളകളില് വനിതാ മാധ്യമ പ്രവര്ത്തകരുടെ ജീവിതം". Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ Sweeney, Bill (7 February 2011). "Police in India must drop charges against Tehelka reporter". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "'Investigate' the police at your own peril: The case of Tehelka's K K Shahina". asu.thehoot.org/. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "Shahina of Open magazine conferred Chameli Devi award". Hindustan Times. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ Ramalingam, Sudha; Ganesan, Subhashini (2019). "End-of-Life Practices in Rural South India: SocioCultural Determinants". Indian Journal of Palliative Care. 25 (2): 224–227. doi:10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_173_18. ISSN 0973-1075. PMC 6504736. PMID 31114107.
- ^ Chatterjee, Pyali (2014). "Thalaikoothal: the Practice of Euthanasia in the Name of Custom". European Researcher. 87 (11–2).
- ^ "Shahina KK, Author at Open The Magazine". Open The Magazine. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "The Centre insists on death for Rajiv Gandhi assassins". Open The Magazine. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Wayanad tribals are soft targets for sterilisation by Shahina KK". www.im4change.org. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "Author Profile: K K Shahina".
- ^ "RAJEEV RAMACHANDRAN - Buy Malayalam Books Online | Mathrubhumi Books". www.mbibooks.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.