May 3 is observed across the globe as World Press Freedom Day. But this year there is not much to cheer about.
According to the World Press Freedom Index 2026 recently released by Reporters Without Borders, India has slipped to the 157th position, down six places from 2025.
No one expected that in the middle of the US-Israel war on Iran and an LPG crisis in India, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026 would be fast-tracked through both Houses of Parliament in the last week of March, receive the President’s assent within days and become an Act almost immediately.
For women war reporters, the battlefield has two frontlines.
In its 24th year as a collective, the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) sets course for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala for its 20th National Meeting. From February 6–8, 2026, women journalists and media practitioners from across the country – including remote and underrepresented regions – will gather to learn, listen, debate and reconnect.
