Sanna Irshad Mattoo (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

: , born 1993) is an Indian photojournalist based in Srinagar,

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administere ...

. She won the 2022

Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography The Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography is one of the American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It recognizes a distinguished example of feature photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a photograph or phot ...

Career

Sanna Irshad Mattoo was born in the Srinagar district of the erstwhile

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indep ...

into a

Kashmiri Muslim Kashmiri Muslims are ethnic Kashmiris who practice Islam and are native to the Kashmir Valley in Indian-administered Kashmir. Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has ...

family. She studied

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

at the

Central University of Kashmir Central University of Kashmir (often abbreviated as cukashmir), formerly Central University of Jammu and Kashmir, is a central university located in the Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It has been established in March 2009 thr ...

. In 2021, she became a Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellow. She works for

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

. In 2022, Mattoo won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography. She shared the award with fellow Reuters photojournalists

Adnan Abidi Adnan Abidi is an Indian photographer based in New Delhi. He has been part of three Pulitzer Prize-winning packages for photography as part of ''Reuters photography team. Early life and Inspiration Adnan's childhood and early experiences ...

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, and

Danish Siddiqui Danish Siddiqui (19 May 1983 – 16 July 2021) was an Indian photojournalist based in Delhi, who used to lead the national Reuters multimedia team and was Chief Photographer India. He received his first 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photogr ...

. The citation for their prize indicated that it had been awarded for the work in documenting the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in India. In July 2022, Mattoo was barred from travelling out of India. She was stopped by immigration authorities at the

Delhi airport Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of , is situated in Palam, Delhi, southwest of the New Del ...

. On 18 October 2022, Mattoo was again stopped from traveling to the US by immigration authorities at Delhi airport. This time she was on her way to New York to receive the Pulitzer Prize. The Indian authorities did not provide any reason for the ban. On 21 October 2022, the United States (US) has stated its commitment to press freedom by closely monitoring the case of Pulitzer Prize winner Sanna Irshad Mattoo. On

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, the case made an impression as well. The chairman of the

House Intelligence Committee The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), also known as the House Intelligence Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Adam Schiff. It is the primary committ ...

US Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Adam Schiff Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who has served as a U.S. representative since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented since 2013. Schiff's district (numbered as the ...

, expressed his "disturbing" reaction to learning that Mattoo was unable to fly to accept the Pulitzer Prize and that "efforts to harass and silence the media" must stop.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattoo, Sanna Irshad Living people Kashmiri people People from Srinagar Indian photojournalists 1993 births 21st-century Indian Muslims Kashmiri Muslims Indian journalists 21st-century Indian journalists Kashmiri journalists Women war correspondents Photojournalism Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography winners Reuters people