Dubai: Women can play an important role in projecting their country's true image abroad through their contributions, said Pakistani Ambassador Jamil Ahmad Khan.
Khan expressed his views during a meeting in the Pakistani Embassy in Abu Dhabi with Dubai-based Pakistani female artist and adventurer Namira Saleem who was last month decorated with ‘Tamgha-i-Imtiaz' (medal of excellence) by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, for her accomplishments in the area of sports.
The award was given during the Pakistan Day ceremony on March 23 in Islamabad.
Khan congratulated Namira for raising the image of Pakistan through her adventures and said Namira's daring spirit has inspired women of Pakistan and the Gulf to excel in all walks of life. He said that the notion of ‘soft power' is vital to promote society's ethos, civilisational identity, diverse culture and geographical uniqueness in a world prone to stereotypical denominations and misconceptions.
Namira is the first UAE Pakistani female who signed up as astronaut of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and was the first UAE female and first Asian to have skydived (tandem) from above Mount Everest at 8993.9 metres. She is also the first Pakistani female to complete expeditions to the North and South Poles. She has held solo exhibitions during the United Nations General Assembly, Unesco's Executive Board in Paris and the Saarc Summit in Pakistan.
Ambassador Khan suggested she work on projects and programmes aimed at inspiring women from Muslim countries particularly women from Pakistan. He said that the embassy would encourage such programmes at strategic level. "Globalisation has thrown up new challenges and opportunities for the nation and with the unhindered participation of women in the public and private sectors, the country will be able to realise its true economic potential," he added.
Namira thanked the ambassador for his encouragement and also appraised him of salient features of her film she intends to make on the impact of global warming on Pakistan and effects of floods on Pakistani women.
