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Shad Begum is a social worker from Dir Lower,
She was awarded with the
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. She comes from a religious and middle class family. She is the first university-educated female in her family. She says, she always got support from her father, brothers and husband for her social work.
Association for Behaviour and Knowledge Transformation
Ms Shad founded the Association for Behaviour and Knowledge Transformation (ABKT) for the development of women in the area in 1994. Initially ABKT was known as Anjuman Behbood-i-Khawateen Talash. She faced many challenges and difficulties in the man dominated conservative society of the area. She shifted the organization office to Peshawar when the Taliban rose in the area and she was threatened by unidentified militants. The association has contributed in female education, political awareness and health improvement projects in the area. Furthermore, the association has also carried out projects like construction of hanging bridges, installation of hand pumps, sinking wells, paving streets, provision of small loans to local traders and capacity building of women at grassroots level. The association gets funding from Pakistani and international agencies.Awards
She was awarded with the International Women of Courage Award
The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...
by the US First Lady Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
and the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
on Thursday 8 March 2012. The area where she comes from is very conservative and there are very few working women. She had requested several news reporters not to spread the news because of security reasons.
References