Mumbai journalist Rana Ayyub on Monday won the 2020 McGill Medal for journalistic courage. Ayyub, who is a contributing writer in the Global Opinions section of The Washington Post, will receive the medal on April 22 at a ceremony in the Peyton Anderson Forum at Grady College.

“Ayyub is committed to telling the stories of people who can’t do it on her own, making her an ideal McGill medal recipient,” Sofia Gratas, the McGill Fellow responsible for researching the nomination said.

Director of the McGill program, Diane H Murray, said the purpose of the award was to advance journalistic courage.

The journalist said it was a huge honour for her to get the award. “I accept this award on behalf of all journalists who are fighting an unpopular battle to speak the truth,” she tweeted.

Ayyub is a former investigative journalist from Tehelka and has written Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up, a book that investigates the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Ayyub has often been the target of hatred and abuse on social media platforms from Hindutva activists. In May 2018, the Office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner had called on Indian authorities to protect her after she got death threats following an online hate campaign. In 2019, she was also named by Time magazine among ten global journalists who face maximum threats to their lives.