Again, for the 16th year, the Asian Women of Achievement Awards (AWAs) bestowed trophies on ten female ambassadors, each a role model in their respective professional sector.
Guests, resplendent in dazzling outfits, entered the Hilton Park Lane through its swivelling doors and headed up the stairs to the champagne reception, then to The Ballroom where the awards were presented. The evening included a four-course meal and a performance by Diana Yukawa, violinist, songwriter and Arts & Culture nominee 2015.
Turkish author Elif Shafak, who wrote The Forty Rules of Love, received the global empowerment gong for her inspirational works about protest and human rights. The 43-year-old once faced court in her homeland for ‘insulting Turkishness’ in a book about the genocide of Armenians in the country a century ago. Shivvy Jervis, presenter and head of digital media at Telefonica, was presented with the Media Award.
The prestigious round-table event is the brainchild of Pinky Lilani OBE DL, a humble lady. Donning a light-coloured sari on the night, Pinky described the 50 finalists as “dedicated and determined”. She added: “I feel proud to stand with this group of inspiring women.”
Pinky was sat on the top table along with HRH The Duchess of Gloucester, Home Secretary Theresa May and Shadow Foreign Secretary MP Hilary Benn. Also sat on this table was Sir Nicholas Young, former CEO of the British Red Cross. Sir Young, wearing a cream and red sherwani and matching sehra, an Indian turban, he was liked as the Maharaja of Hyderabad. Sir Young was Chair of the judging panel which comprised of 23 judges, 12 male, 11 female, including Asda’s Diversity Manager Gabrielle McBride and Sodexo’s HR Director Harbhajan Brar.
Other winners included: Comedian, compere, writer and actor Sajeela Kershi (Arts & Culture). Sajeela stars in BBC Radio Scotland’s multi-faith family sitcom “Mixing It”; Sevasti Wong, MD, Accenture (Business). Sevasti started working for Accenture in 1999 and is also the company’s inclusion and diversity lead.
Founder of Curzon PR Farzana Baduel scooped the Entrepreneur Award. The Professions Award went to Nicky Jayesinghe, head of professional policy division, British Medical Association. The Public Service trophy was notched up by Daman Mulhi, PR Director, The UK Sepsis Trust. Daman is a full-time NHS consultant and founding trustee of the UK Sepsis Trust – a national charity committed to saving 12,500 lives a year from sepsis.
The Social & Humanitarian Award went to Parmi Dheensa, Executive Director, Include Me Too, a national charity dedicated to supporting BAME disabled children and their families. Annie Zaidi, youth engagement coach, Leicester City Football Club Community Trust beat three fellow finalists to clinch the Sport Award. Tanya Datta, store manager at a north London branch of Marks & Spencer was crowned Young Achiever. Sari-clad Tanya, in her address, thanked her family and colleagues. There was mass laughter when she said ‘tonight actually feels better than my wedding day’, to which the MC, newsreader Riz Latif, said, ‘that’s going to be an interesting conversation at home’.
The Community Award went to the University of East London, which has over 19,000 students from over 120 different countries. The University has Lord Gulam Noon as the Chancellor. Fifty-four per cent of its staff are female and 30 per cent are BAME. Representing the University on the night was Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford.
Jyoti Shah, consultant urological surgeon, Burton Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was recipient of the Chairman’s Award. Jyoti is an examiner at Leicester Medical School as well as an author, reviewer and teacher.
The awards took place last Tuesday (May 19). Its Patrons include Cherie, wife of former British PM Tony Blair, and HRH Princess Badiya bint El Hassan. A total £2,030 was raised on the night for the nominated charity, Tiffany’s Circle, British Red Cross. For more information visit www.awaawards.com
