Anganwadi staff are vital to ensuring the wellbeing of India’s children. Yet in 2006, the Supreme Court refused to recognise them as government employees.
The jury praised Johari's work saying it shone through with its combination of meticulous reportage, humanism and empathy, all reflecting a high order of journalistic excellence.
She got the award for her article on how the 2020 countrywide lockdown adversely affected Jharkhand women, who had migrated to other parts of the country.