MPM-Alumna to receive Martin Luther King Jr. Award by the Ministry of Education of the United States of America

Assistant Professor for International Relations and Political Science at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) Dr. Noor Fatima was honored with the Martin Luther King Junior Award becoming the first South Asian woman to ever receive such a distinction.

Dr. Noor Fatima was honored for her contribution towards education, peace, and ideas for humanity. Dr. Fatima always strove to put forward innovative ideas to help society to live in a more peaceful environment. Her suggestion calls for action to educate students from elementary to graduate levels in a way that benefit them to peacefully and harmoniously live together without prejudices based on skin color, cast or faith. She believes in recognizing and celebrating the necessity of cross-cultural, cross-faith and cross-background understanding among people, along with the undeniable effect acceptance and open-mindedness has on education, and its relationship with conflict resolution. Dr. Fatima’s position is based on the belief that education can hold far-reaching power on a broad scale.

In an interview, Dr. Fatima stated that she has focused her work on fostering interfaith harmony after she was invited as one of 50 professors to the White House in 2015. To earn the award, Dr. Fatima went through a long process including interviews, testimonials and a review of her work, which encompasses 15 years.

Noor Fatima graduated from the Master of Public Management at the University of Potsdam in 2002 with a scholarship of the DSE (Deutsche Stiftung für Internationale Entwicklung).

“Studying the MPM in Germany made me foster my critical thinking, and made me become a more concerned citizen. I capitalized on the German educational system and the impact the MPM had on me and continued with a PhD in Germany. I am grateful to the lecturers of the University of Potsdam, who had an enormous impact on me which ultimately led to me being more visionary and determined in taking the right direction.”