Shabnam Chaudhri has made Pakistanis and Muslims all over the world proud by becoming the first ever Muslim and Asian Woman to be appointed Superintendent of the Scotland Yard.

She was given the high rank after 28 years of dedicated service to the Scotland Yard

Her work is focused on improving communities in the UK and tackling crimes against women, minorities and people of different backgrounds. Shabnam shared that she works with women to raise awareness around issues such as hate crime and domestic abuse, and delivers empowerment presentations to women from hard to reach groups and communities who would not otherwise engage with police.

Shabnam has also received the Outstanding Contribution Award when serving as a Detective Chief Inspector on the Metropolitan Police Service

She was awarded this honor for her contribution towards tackling hate crime.

In an interview, after winning the award, Shabnam talked about how humbled she was by this award. “For me it is not just about being a police officer but I feel like I have a duty of care to people… I wish to live in a society where no one has to tolerate hate crimes or feel like that is the norm!”

She shared about how her mother finally became proud of what she does when she paraded her to the neighbors in her Police Uniform telling everyone that she was her daughter

Shabnam discussed her struggle getting to the point where she is now in another interview, sharing, “My family did not understand why I took up the Police Force as a choice of profession and till 6-8 months down the line it was a struggle to go to work every day!”

We hope that Shabnam’s courage and resilience gives people all around, the strength to break barriers and fight for what is right.

Cover image via: gulf-times.com