ISLAMABAD: UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on Thursday named Muniba Mazari Pakistan’s first woman Goodwill Ambassador to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

The announcement took place at Saudi Pak Tower in Blue Area which was lit orange to mark the 16th day of activism against gender-based violence.

In her new role as the national goodwill ambassador for UN Women Pakistan, activist-writer/singer Muniba Mazari will dedicate her efforts towards the empowerment of women and girls.

She will serve as an advocate for the UN Women’s “Planet 50-50 by 2030: step it up for gender equality” and other campaigns advocating for change to address the challenges that are holding women and girls back from reaching their full potential.

Muniba Mazari, who has been in a wheelchair for over seven years after a car accident left her with an spinal cord injury, has taken up important issues of gender inequality and discrimination.

Country representative for UN Women, Jamshed Kazi, announced, “We are thrilled and honoured to have Muniba Mazari... who epitomises the core values of UN Women and serves as an inspirational force for hundreds of thousands of women and men in Pakistan and abroad.”

Recently named as one of BBC’s 100 women for 2015, Muniba Mazari’s voice and support to UN Women will ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment stay at the forefront of the sustainable development agenda.

Speaking at the event, Muniba Mazari said: “I am a strong supporter of UN Women and the role we have in ending gender-based discrimination and working towards gender equality, making it a lived reality by 2030.We need to educate both men and women if we want to eliminate gender-based discrimination from the country and from the world. This is the time to empower women and girls because when you empower one woman you empower the whole generation.”

Secretary Women’s Parliamentary Caucus and MNA Shaista Pervaiz said women’s participation in the political arena in Pakistan continued to grow.

“Many of the laws passed in recent years in Pakistan to curb harmful practices and discrimination against women would not have happened without the relentless advocacy and initiative of female members of parliament, along with a few strong male supporters,” she said.

Congratulating Muniba Mazari, UN Resident Coordinator Neil Buhne emphasised that women’s rights were human rights and that vigorously advocating for gender equality was not for UN Women to address alone but that it was a crucial agenda that the entire UN system in Pakistan would continue to be deeply engaged in.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2015