Minister of State Marvi Memon was conferred the Speaker's Democracy Award by Speaker of the House Of Commons John Bercow on Thursday.

The Speaker's Democracy Award is an internationally focused award which aims to celebrate individuals who through their leadership and personal courage have made an outstanding contribution to development of democratic societies, said a statement by the House of Commons.

Memon was nominated by MP Alex Salmond. Nominations for the award poured in from across the world.

The judges appreciated her performance as the chairman of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), responsible for empowering over 5.3 million women by giving them access to unconditional quarterly support stipend.

The panel also admired Memon's services in combating poverty and child nutrition in rural areas.

Her contribution towards gender equality and democratic settlement in Pakistan was also lauded by the judges as BISP encouraged millions of women to obtain national identity cards, thus enabling them to participate in the electoral process.