Nadia Bukhari helps Duke and Duchess of Cambridge prepare for upcoming trip to Pakistan
8 October 2019
Nadia Bukhari, one of UCL School of Pharmacy’s inspiring female pharmacists was invited by the Royal Household to a Celebration of Pakistani Culture and Achievement at the Aga Khan Centre in London on 2nd October.
As the royal couple prepare for their imminent trip to Pakistan, they invited notable members from the Pakistani Diaspora community in the UK to a special engagement event.
Nadia, Principal Teaching Fellow in Pharmacy Practice at UCL School of Pharmacy was invited due to her high-level engagement in Pakistan, being a trustee at Pakistan Alliance for Girls’ Education (PAGE) and being the Founder for the National Alliance for Women in Pharmacy in Pakistan. Nadia works tirelessly to promote gender equality in education increasing access to education for girls across Pakistan. Her outreach work also strives to support women’s careers in Pharmacy in Pakistan.
Nadia was amongst good company at the engagement event which was also attended by Adil Ray; Naughty Boy; Bas Javid, who is Sajid Javid’s brother; Tom Drew, High Commissioner to the UK in Pakistan and his wife Joanna Roper, the special envoy for gender equality at FCO; Nafees Zakaria, Pakistan High Commissioner in the UK and Christian Turner, the incoming High Commissioner to the UK in Pakistan.
‘It was a matter of great prestige to be invited to this special celebration of Pakistani Culture and Achievement amongst such distinguished guests. As a woman from the Pakistani Diaspora, it was also a great recognition of all the hard work and engagement done to support girls’ education and women’s pharmacy careers in Pakistan.’ Commented Nadia Bukhari
Nadia Bukhari works hard to give girls in Pakistan an education and promote gender equality by opening new schools with the charity Pakistan Alliance for Girls’ Education (PAGE https://page.org.pk ). It’s a huge issue to address in Pakistan, which has the second highest number of out of school children in the world. There are roughly 12 million girls in Pakistan with no access to education and 19,000 in Islamabad alone.
The alliance hosts fundraisers in the UK and the last London fundraiser, supported by Art Malik and the Pakistan High Commissioner, raised £100,000 for girls’ schools in Pakistan
So far, PAGE has opened 42 schools and one opened in Islamabad recently. The charity also funds older girls to complete their education to matric level (UK GCSE equivalent) with a 2-year fast track programme for girls to complete their secondary education.
Nadia is an inspiration to the girls as the youngest female Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and first Muslim woman on the National Pharmacy Board for England. She also launched the National Alliance for Women in Pharmacy in Pakistan and is Founder and Patron in Chief.