The Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Mediaperson is an Indian journalism award named after Chameli Devi Jain, an Indian independence activist who became the first Jain woman to go to prison during India's independence struggle. The award was instituted in 1980 by The Media Foundation and is given to women in the field of journalism. According to Business Standard, the award is "perhaps India's longest running media award for women".
The Media Foundation was founded in 1979 by B. G. Verghese, Lakshmi Chand Jain,ÃÂ Prabhash Joshi, Ajit Bhattacharjea and N. S. Jagannathan. The award was instituted in 1980 by Verghese and the family of Chameli Devi. The criteria for selection include social concern, dedication, courage and compassion in the individual's work. Journalists in print, digital and broadcast are eligible including photographers, cartoonists and newspaper designers; the entries are judged by an independent jury. Preference is given to rural or small-town journalists and journalists in regional Indian languages.
Neerja Chowdhury won the inaugural award in 1981. In 2015, Supriya Sharma of Scroll.in became the first online journalist to receive the award.
Note that before 2024 the award made in one year was named for the previous year, thus the award made in March 2023 was the 2022 award, but in 2024 the system changed and the award made in March 2024 was called the 2024 award.