Dubai: Major Mariam Al Mansouri, the UAE’s first female pilot who led a strike mission in Syria against Daesh in October 2014, is expected to be honoured on Tuesday at the United Nations with the Asia Game Changer Award.
The annual award, which was launched by the Asia Society in 2014, was formed to recognise individuals, organisations and movements who make a positive contribution to the future of Asian society. According to Asia Society, Maj Mariam will be honoured for her role in “battling stereotypes, and terror, from the air”.
Known on social media as ‘Lady Liberty’ and ‘Daesh’s nightmare’, Maj Mariam had spent several years working for the General Command, waiting for the air force academy to open up to female recruits, before realising her dream and becoming one of the first women to join the UAE’s Air Force.
In a previous interview published in Gulf News, Maj Mariam commented that striving for success in a male-dominated field required her to first and foremost compete with herself and pave her own path in developing her own abilities. “Unlike competing with others, competing with yourself is a never-ending process and is a source of motivation for continuous learning,” she said.
Earlier in 2014, the now veteran F-16 operations pilot had previously received the Mohammad Bin Rashid Excellence Award, taking home the Pride of the Emirates medal.
Also to be honoured on October 13 at the United Nations are Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, who was named the Asia Game Changer of the Year 2015. Other recipients of the award include 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics awardees Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura for developing the light-emitting diode (LED) bulb; Chanda Kochhar of the Indian banking industry; Lei Jun, known as China’s Steve Jobs; Queensland Ballet artistic director Li Cunxin, who was one of China’s top ballet dancers; Indian comedian and activist Aasif Mandvi; and Indian interior designer Kiran Bir Sethi.
