The 2026 ZEKE award winners have been announced, with Ginevra Bonina winning the award for systemic change for her project 'Out for Blood,' which documents period poverty in India and the women fighting to reclaim their bodies. Ebrahim Alipoor won the award for documentary photography for his long-term project 'Bullets Have No Borders,' capturing the lives of border porters carrying goods across the Iran-Iraq mountains.
These awards highlight the power of social documentary photography to bring attention to underreported global issues, from menstrual stigma in rural India to the dangerous labor of cross-border porters in the Middle East. The recognition amplifies the work of photographers using visual storytelling to drive awareness and systemic change.