SWAT: A Twenty-One-year-old girl from the Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has earned international recognition by being awarded the “Youth Leader Award” for dedicating her life to ending the practice of child marriages and Education in Swat and other areas of the province. Hadiqa Bashir was awarded the “Youth Leader Award” by the organization Global Citizen in recognition of her services in Australia.
Thirty-two youth leaders from around the world were selected for this award. Among them, the only first woman of Pakistan was Hadiqa Bashir, who was awarded this international honor during a ceremony in Australia.
Hadiqa Bashir is a resident of Saadu Sharif area of Swat and she raised his voice against early marriage from childhood and worked under the patronage of his father Iftikhar Ahmed for the promotion of women’s education.
“Along with her education, Hadiqa struggled for the education of girls in the society and not only motivated the girls but also made their parents aware of the importance of education by organizing the session.”
Hadiqa has also started work on the climate change that is engulfing the world and in this regard, she has also tried to spread awareness in the community by organizing various sessions.
“Global Citizen selected Thirty-Two such youth leaders from around the world and honored them with the “Youth Leader Award” in recognition of their talents and services at a grand ceremony in Australia.
“Hadiqa Bashir was also one of these in the world. Who was honored with this award.”
On returning home after receiving the award, Hadiqa Basheer said that I was the first Pakistani while reading this award as an honor for Pakistan, added that this award is a matter of pride not only for me but for Pakistan as well, she said.
She said that I am dedicated to this award in the name of the Pak Army, police, and civil martyrs of Pakistan.
Hadiqa further said that unfortunately in our society, Sixty-Five percent of the girls under the age of sixteen are married at an early age and thus a large number of the country is deprived of education. That is why she is trying to raise awareness among the people so that they pay attention to the education of their sons as well as their daughters so that they can become good mothers and educate their children better.
Hadiqa’s father Iftikhar Ahmed expressed his happiness on his daughter winning the award and said that today I am very happy that my daughter has won another award for Pakistan.
He said that surely with such talents of girls like Hadiqa and bringing the name of the country to light, other girls will also be motivated and they will play their role for the country and the people.
He said that if parents educate their daughters and provide them with opportunities to use their skills in every field, then they can make the name of the country and nation bright.
