ZEKE Award 2026 Winners Document Menstrual Taboos and Koolbar Plight
The 2026 ZEKE Award winners feature two documentary series: Ginevra Bonina's 'The Blood of the Goddess' on menstrual health in India, and Ebrahim Alipoor's 'Koolbari' on cross-border smuggling in Iranian Kurdistan. Bonina's work, shot across Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam, exposes the isolation of women in kurma ghars, the work of menstrual educators like Hurera Khanam, and the ritual sacrifice of goats at Kamakhya Temple. Alipoor's series, spanning 2012 to 2023, documents the perilous lives of Koolbars who carry goods across the Iran-Iraq mountains, facing avalanches, frostbite, and border police shootings. The award is presented by the social documentary network ZEKE.
Key facts
- ZEKE Award 2026 winners announced in May 2026.
- Ginevra Bonina won for 'The Blood of the Goddess' series on menstrual health in India.
- Ebrahim Alipoor won for 'Koolbari' series on smuggling in Iranian Kurdistan.
- Bonina's photos were taken in October–December 2025 across four Indian states.
- Alipoor's photos span from 2012 to 2023 in Iran and Iraq.
- Only 45% of Indian girls are aware of menstruation before menarche.
- Kurma ghars are isolation huts for menstruating women in tribal villages.
- Koolbars face death from avalanches, frostbite, and border police shootings.
Entities
Artists
- Ginevra Bonina
- Ebrahim Alipoor
- Hurera Khanam
- Khaled
- Ahmad
- Susan
- Dariush Shukri
Institutions
- ZEKE
- Humjoli Foundation
- Pinkishe Foundation
- Sparsh
- Kamakhya Temple
- Composite Kadkad Model School
Locations
- India
- Telangana
- Adilabad district
- Maharashtra
- Talegaon Dabhade
- Agra
- Uttar Pradesh
- Fulbodi
- Gadchiroli
- Adilabad
- Guwahati
- Assam
- Ghaziabad
- Iran
- Kurdistan
- Iraq
- Hawraman Takht