Marvi Memon conferred prestigious French award

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State and Chairperson BISP Marvi Memon has been awarded with the “Grade D Officer” in the National Order of Merit by President of France Emmanuel Macron .

The award was presented on Friday to Ms. Memon by French ambassador Martine Dorance in a reception held at French Residence.

This eminent distinction is one of the major honors of French Republic, created by General Charles De Gaulle in 1962 as recognition for exceptional individual merits.

This distinction is granted to French personalities but also to foreigners whose talents, actions and generosity deserve a public recognition. The National Order of Merit has 187,000 members of which fifty percent are women.

Ms Memon said that it was an honour for her to receive prestigious French National Order of Merit and humbled by the generosity of the French President Emmanuel Macron for recognizing and valuing her work.

She thanked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for entrusting her with opportunity to head BISP which has enabled her to contribute to the lives of the most discriminated, and therefore be in a position to receive such a prestigious international award. She reiterated that Prime Minister’s confidence and support in the various achievements stands distinct.

She said that she feels proud to be spearheading BISP, the largest social safety network of Pakistan and South Asia.

“BISP is not just any social safety program, it is a massive investment in Pakistan’s womenfolk,” she said.

She said that “since women are the real architects of society,” investing in women’s economic empowerment is setting a direct path towards poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth for our country.

She added that having spent part of her childhood in France where she received her early education, she found resonance between Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision for a society “Unity, Faith and Discipline” and French national motto “Liberté, égalité, fraternite” (Liberty, Equality, fraternity).

French Ambassador Martine Dorance congratulated Ms Memon and conveyed unwavering support by the President of French Republic to the development of relations between France and Pakistan.

Ms Memon has been awarded this award in recognition of her services for the people of Pakistan and her devotion to promote relations between France and Pakistan. Marvi Memon is the first Pakistani woman to be awarded the National Order of Merit with the rank of officer.