Two Pakistani women, Gulalai Ismail and Saba Ismail, receive Foundation Chirac Prize for “Conflict Prevention”
PARIS (France) – Two young Pakistani women were awarded the prestigious Chirac Prize for Conflict Prevention in recognition of their contributions toward development of a culture of peace and non-violence through the action of women and youth in Pakistan in Paris.
Ms. Gulalai Ismail and Ms. Saba Ismail, the co-founders of women rights NGO “Aware Girls”, were conferred with the prize by the Former French Minister for Culture Ms. Chirstine Albanel in an impressive ceremony held in Quai Branly Museum, Paris on 24 Nov. 2016.
The marvelous ceremony was attended amongst others by French President Francois Hollande, the Ambassador of Pakistan to France Moin-ul-Haque, intellectuals, members of civil society, diplomats and media persons in large number.
After receiving the Prize, Ms. Gulalai Ismail co-founder of NGO “Aware Girls”, said that their NGO with the help of young women is working successfully for the empowerment of the women especially in the conflict zones to bring about qualitative changes in their way of life.
The French President Francois Hollande while speaking on the occasion paid rich tribute to Aware Girls for empowerment of the women in the conflict zone.
Mr. Hollande said that Aware Girls is giving the women the possibility to participate in and monitor elections, to provide education to women and economically empowering them by providing micro-credit.
The Ambassador congratulated the recipients on receiving the Chirac prize and appreciated their work towards empowerment of women in the conflict-prone areas.
The Chirac Foundation, launched by the former French President Jacques Chirac, strives for peace through five advocacy programmes which include Conflict Prevention. The prize for conflict prevention has been awarded every year since 2009.
The Aware Girls is a young women-led organization, established in 2002, that advocates for women’s rights in Pakistan. Aware Girls, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), aims to strengthen leadership skills of young people especially young women and girls enabling them to act as agents of change for women empowerment and peace building.