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Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has honoured Qatar-based resident Sabika Shaban for her community service.
Sabika, founder of the Qatar Disability Resource (QADR) and Academic Journals and Publications Specialist at the College of Islamic Studies (CIS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), was among 25 recipients and the only one from Qatar, to be included in Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Honours List of Overseas Pakistani Leaders under the age of 40.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi honoured these 25 overseas Pakistanis under the 2nd edition of the Foreign Minister’s Honours List. This came as part of his initiative to reach out to overseas Pakistanis and in the context of Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations. The first edition in 2020 honoured overseas Pakistanis for contributing to combating the Covid-19 pandemic. This year’s theme was about acknowledging outstanding young Pakistanis from across the globe, the ‘Leaders under 40.’ The awardees were selected for their professional leadership with a strong record of innovation and outstanding performance in the fields of community service, science and innovation, entrepreneurship, sports, arts and culture.
Sabika is a Pakistani-Canadian and has been living in Qatar for more than a decade. Her advocacy work for the disability community in Qatar centers around access to information as a means of empowering people with disabilities and enablers in the community, which also earned her an HBKU Student Life Award in Community Service earlier in the year.
She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Islam and Global Affairs at the CIS, HBKU, through which she engages in disability research with a specific focus on Qatar.
The Honours List recipients from 15 countries were formally recognised in a private virtual ceremony, in which select awardees including Sabika had the opportunity to interact with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the importance of their work.
In an interview with Qatar Tribune, Sabika spoke about her work and the impact she has created in a country she calls home. Excerpts:
How was the idea of QADR conceived?
QADR was formed very fittingly during the autism awareness month in April 2018, a global tradition that was started and is keenly celebrated in Qatar. It rooted from the desire to discover the resources available in the country that can help people with disabilities realise their potential. What started as a humble effort to share information grew to a platform hundreds-strong, engaging not only people with disabilities or their families but also other stakeholders such as educators, medical practitioners, service and equipment providers and researchers. It has formed such an incredible community where questions are asked and its members come together to share their knowledge and help alleviate some of that uncertainty that comes with making important life choices.
What is the basic premise of the platform?
The platform has an apt acronym ‘QADR’ which is an incredibly powerful faith-based term loosely translated as ‘Divine Destiny.’ What QADR aims to do, to whatever degree it can, is to help stakeholders of the community to realise that destiny through understanding all the options available and making well-informed choices. This can mean anything from trying to find an inclusive school to a sensory friendly recreational visit, from understanding availability of specialised equipment in the country to training courses in the field or volunteering opportunities in the disability world. The need for information is endless and ultimately QADR is entirely based on the premise that ‘Information is Empowerment.’
How do you take the honour accorded to you by Pakistan’s Ministry Foreign Affairs?
It has been an incredible honour and a delight that disability concerns were brought to the fore with this recognition. I am very much grateful to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Qatar HE Syed Ahsan Raza Shah and his team at the embassy and the QADR community.
Are you working on a new project?
I am currently embarking on a new project phase to help ensure that all the rich information generated within the QADR community can be made accessible to anyone in Qatar. In addition, through research conducted at CIS, HBKU, I am delving into the socio-economic dimension of the disability community in Qatar for which QADR has been instrumental in highlighting the disproportionate financial burden borne by families supporting disabled dependents. There are also research plans in the pipeline on gauging the availability, access and quality of inclusive education for children with disabilities in Qatar and the implications on local policy development.
Sabika, founder of the Qatar Disability Resource (QADR) and Academic Journals and Publications Specialist at the College of Islamic Studies (CIS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), was among 25 recipients and the only one from Qatar, to be included in Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Honours List of Overseas Pakistani Leaders under the age of 40.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi honoured these 25 overseas Pakistanis under the 2nd edition of the Foreign Minister’s Honours List. This came as part of his initiative to reach out to overseas Pakistanis and in the context of Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations. The first edition in 2020 honoured overseas Pakistanis for contributing to combating the Covid-19 pandemic. This year’s theme was about acknowledging outstanding young Pakistanis from across the globe, the ‘Leaders under 40.’ The awardees were selected for their professional leadership with a strong record of innovation and outstanding performance in the fields of community service, science and innovation, entrepreneurship, sports, arts and culture.
Sabika is a Pakistani-Canadian and has been living in Qatar for more than a decade. Her advocacy work for the disability community in Qatar centers around access to information as a means of empowering people with disabilities and enablers in the community, which also earned her an HBKU Student Life Award in Community Service earlier in the year.
She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Islam and Global Affairs at the CIS, HBKU, through which she engages in disability research with a specific focus on Qatar.
The Honours List recipients from 15 countries were formally recognised in a private virtual ceremony, in which select awardees including Sabika had the opportunity to interact with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the importance of their work.
In an interview with Qatar Tribune, Sabika spoke about her work and the impact she has created in a country she calls home. Excerpts:
How was the idea of QADR conceived?
QADR was formed very fittingly during the autism awareness month in April 2018, a global tradition that was started and is keenly celebrated in Qatar. It rooted from the desire to discover the resources available in the country that can help people with disabilities realise their potential. What started as a humble effort to share information grew to a platform hundreds-strong, engaging not only people with disabilities or their families but also other stakeholders such as educators, medical practitioners, service and equipment providers and researchers. It has formed such an incredible community where questions are asked and its members come together to share their knowledge and help alleviate some of that uncertainty that comes with making important life choices.
What is the basic premise of the platform?
The platform has an apt acronym ‘QADR’ which is an incredibly powerful faith-based term loosely translated as ‘Divine Destiny.’ What QADR aims to do, to whatever degree it can, is to help stakeholders of the community to realise that destiny through understanding all the options available and making well-informed choices. This can mean anything from trying to find an inclusive school to a sensory friendly recreational visit, from understanding availability of specialised equipment in the country to training courses in the field or volunteering opportunities in the disability world. The need for information is endless and ultimately QADR is entirely based on the premise that ‘Information is Empowerment.’
How do you take the honour accorded to you by Pakistan’s Ministry Foreign Affairs?
It has been an incredible honour and a delight that disability concerns were brought to the fore with this recognition. I am very much grateful to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Qatar HE Syed Ahsan Raza Shah and his team at the embassy and the QADR community.
Are you working on a new project?
I am currently embarking on a new project phase to help ensure that all the rich information generated within the QADR community can be made accessible to anyone in Qatar. In addition, through research conducted at CIS, HBKU, I am delving into the socio-economic dimension of the disability community in Qatar for which QADR has been instrumental in highlighting the disproportionate financial burden borne by families supporting disabled dependents. There are also research plans in the pipeline on gauging the availability, access and quality of inclusive education for children with disabilities in Qatar and the implications on local policy development.
