Pak tribal teen vying for prestigious award

LONDON: A young Pakistani girl campaigning against early and forced marriages in tribal regions is amongst the finalists of 2017 Commonwealth Youth Awards for her courageous work.

Hadiqa Bashir, 15, is amongst the 17 young change makers from 13 countries running to be named Commonwealth Young Person of the Year at an awards ceremony which will be held here in two weeks.

The Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work celebrate outstanding adolescents and young adults aged 15–29 from Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean and Americas, Africa and Europe, who are leading initiatives ranging from poverty alleviation to peace-building.

The Commonwealth Secretariat told The News that Hadiqa Bashir has been inspirational in her work and approach. Hadiqa campaigns against early and forced marriages in tribal regions of Pakistan, including Swara, a cultural practice in which young girls are married to elder persons. She has attended and led many rallies against forces marriages and has done extensive engagement work at the gross-roots level to raise awareness against the practice which is common in several backward areas of Pakistan.

Hadiqa has been working with legislators and religious leaders and engaging with civil society organisations to raise awareness of the importance of ending early and forced marriages.

Katherine Ellis, Director of Youth at the Commonwealth Secretariat, said, “Through their own initiative, young leaders in communities across the world are delivering on the ambitious agenda set by governments on everything from eliminating hunger to protecting the environment.

“All of the outstanding finalists recognised today have demonstrated that young people are central to bringing forward positive change. Through these awards, we seek to celebrate their achievements and inspire others to follow in their footsteps, and encourage high level support for youth-led development efforts.” It’s understood that Hadiqa will be travelling to London to receive her award.