SHE & Rights Media Awards Ceremony would be held at Women Deliver Conference 2026 on 29th April 2026
The third edition of the SHE & Rights Media Awards 2026 has received an inspiring response, with 351 applications from 29 countries worldwide.
SHE & Rights Media Awards 2026 process began in December 2025 and will end in April 2026 with a Hybrid Awards Ceremony at Women Deliver Conference 2026 in Narrm (Melbourne), Australia (on 29th April 2026) at D03 Exhibition Space.
During this period, SHE & Rights sessions were hosted together by CeHDI and CNS with partners including Women Deliver Conference 2026, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW), and Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health, Gender and Development Justice (APCAT Media). Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR), Fos Feminista, Women’s Rights Caucus, Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FemNet), Outright International, and Young Feminist Caucus also joined hands for a few of SHE & Rights sessions during this period.
These SHE & Rights sessions marked 20 years of UPR and session-themes included:
- 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, and ahead of International Human Rights Day and UHC Day
- 2026 begins with more anti-rights pushback against gender equality and impact on abortion rights in the Philippines - It is time for accountability
- Observance of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting (FGM/C)
- Indian Supreme Court's ruling reinforcing menstrual hygiene as a fundamental right
- International Women’s Day (8th March)
- 70th Session of the UN Commission on Status of Women (CSW70)
- Asia Pacific Intergovernmental Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) and its People’s Forum and Youth Forum
- 1st Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) meet to draft a legally binding instrument for promotion and protection of human rights of older persons
Award applications came from every region globally:
- 224 applications from 10 countries in the Asia Pacific
- 110 applications from 13 countries in Africa
- 9 applications from 3 countries in the Americas
- 8 applications from 3 countries in Europe
Entries were submitted in 5 languages - English, French, Bahasa, Hindi, and Nepali —with translations or subtitles included to ensure broad accessibility.
Gender-wise, 315 applicants were female with 36 were males.
A 39-member judging panel has reviewed all the submissions.
29 Countries from which 351 applications came from, were from the following regions:
- 10 countries in Asia Pacific region
- Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong (SAR China), India, Indonesia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
- 13 countries in African region
- Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
- 3 countries in the Americas
- Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, USA
- 3 countries in European region
- Spain, Switzerland, UK
