NEW YORK (Web Desk) – Mariam Al Mansouri, an F-16 fighter pilot, of the UAE Air Force, has received the Asia Game Changer Award at Asia Society’s Game Changer Awards dinner and celebration at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York.
Organisers said Al Mansouri, who is among nine honorees, is a role model for women in the Arab World for battling stereotypes, and terror, from air. Al Mansouri served in the army in other capacities before starting in-flight training.
As a fully qualified, highly trained, combat-ready pilot and wing leader in the UAE Air Force and Air Defence, Al Mansouri was an active member of the UAE air force team participating in the airstrikes conducted by the Global Coalition to Combat Daesh against the terror organisation in Syria. She received the Mohammed Bin Rashid Pride of the Emirates medal for excellence in her field.
Read more: American Airline captain dies during flight
Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, the Permanent Representative of UAE to the UN, attended the awards ceremony Thursday along with representatives of states, senior UN officials, and members of the diplomatic community at the UN, the Emirates247 reported.
Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh congratulated Al Mansouri for being awarded the Asia Society Game Changers Award, saying the recognition is an honour for all Emirati women, who always seek excellence scientifically and practically in all fields whether locally, regionally and internationally.
She lauded the general policy adopted by the Government of the UAE as a key priority to ensure that women leaders were provided real opportunities for empowerment.
She noted that Al Mansour, the first squadron leader in the UAE Air Force, has set a living example of the role of the woman in a moderate, tolerant Muslim country like the UAE.
4 Pakistani women who became successful tech entrepreneurs
Asia Society said the Asia Game Changers Awards recognise those making a transformative and positive difference to the future of Asia and the world.
Honorees are selected through a global survey of more than 1,000 thought leaders.
Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.
Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution with headquarters in New York, centers in Hong Kong and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, and Washington, DC.
