Ottawa, 5 October 2021 (TDI): UNHCR shared the news that Dr. Saleema Rehman is chosen as the regional winner for Asia for UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award. UNHCR applauded her outstanding performance in her community. They shared that Dr. Saleema is a leader. Saleema has beaten the odds by becoming the first female doctor in her community.
Dr. Saleema Rahman was born in a refugee camp in Swabi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. She wasn’t expected to survive as her mother struggled to get proper assistance in the camp. She has struggled through her life but with her parents’ support, she got an education.
According to her in the early days, she was the only girl on school benches but her support helped her to dare to dream and became a doctor. Dr. Saleema fulfilled her dream by opening a private clinic in Attock to save refugees and local women who struggle to get proper health care.
In 2020, during her training, she found herself on the frontlines of the pandemic. Dr. Saleema was treating women with the virus during delivery. Most of them were refugees and locals who had contracted the virus. For her services, she has been chosen as the regional winner for Asia for UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award. This award is one of the prestigious annual prizes which honors those who have gone to extraordinary lengths to aid forcibly displaced or stateless persons.
