Meet our women
We are fortunate to have leaders at the UN who have spent many years across various agencies and departments and who are willing to share their experiences and inspire others.
Investing in local communities: Samina Anwar’s work at the UN has spanned 15 years and four agencies. She is currently a Program Manager at the United Nations Capital Development Fund where she manages innovative financial instruments and investments that promote equitable local economic development across Africa and Asia. Samina says she is motivated to provide “suitable solutions to local needs by using her own experience and putting herself in the shoes of communities.”
Advising on high-level gender policy: Nahla Valji is the Senior Advisor to the Secretary-General (SG) on gender—a topic which has been a top priority for the SG, both inside and outside the UN. Nahla has worked on the UN’s gender parity strategy and its implementation and manages a large European Union investment to support reforms to end violence against girls and women.
Investigating gender and health: With more than 20 years at the UN, Nazneen Damji initially joined the UN as a Fellow with the Institute for Leadership Development. As a policy advisor on gender equality, HIV, and health, she oversees UN Women’s policy and programming efforts on gender equality dimensions of HIV and AIDS as well as on women’s health.
Long-term service: Shenaz P. Nagji has had a stellar 38 year long career at the UN in Conference Secretariats and various Departments such as technical cooperation, disarmament, political affairs, peacekeeping and field support, and has seen the institution’s evolution over time. While she has too many accomplishments to name, a few highlights include: servicing high level meetings and conferences both at UN Headquarters and abroad, accompanying high level delegations away from UN Headquarters, setting up and scaling down the election office in Cape Town for the historic post-apartheid South African elections, acting as an election observer in Angola and Eastern Slavonia, and at times supporting 500 to 1000 field staff.
Motivations and influences
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The women share with me how they have been motivated by their backgrounds and life experiences, not just to serve others, but also to take the specific paths they have followed to and through the UN.
Originally from Hunza, Samina’s career was influenced by her upbringing in the mountainous areas of northern Pakistan. Here, she witnessed the potential of investing in local economic development and the profound impact it had on the livelihoods of women and men. This prompted her to study economics and social policy at the London School of Economics.
Coming from a refugee family that left Uganda for Canada, Nahla always knew she wanted to focus on refugees and migration with a gender lens. She got her start working with local non-governmental organizations in South Africa on rule of law and transitional justice issues for ten years. She also founded an academic journal on transitional justice. During this time, she was asked to consult for UNIFEM, the precursor to UN Women, which proved to be her entry point into the UN.
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Similarly, Nazneen volunteered with a domestic violence shelter in her native Nairobi while working at the UN Environment Program, when she became interested in the intersection of gender equality and health. Listening to women’s stories, she better understood how the UN could contribute. She recalls the 2001 UN General Assembly (GA) Special Session on HIV – the first Special Session on a disease. The double stigmatization of women around HIV presented an imperative for Nazneen to act: “The stigma has fueled me even more to do more, to be interested in how I can play a role in leaving no one behind.”
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From Mtwara, Tanzania, Shenaz applied to the UN initially on her brother’s advice and with his support. She has no shortage of inspiring anecdotes from her time at the UN. Particularly stirring is her story of volunteering in the initial establishment of the UN Mission in East Timor. With little information on this previously closed-off territory at hand, Shenaz strongly felt a responsibility to participate given the mandate of the UN as well as her personal motto to be ready for challenges at any given moment. Ultimately, she was emergency-evacuated from East Timor safely, with her motivation to deliver strengthened. While she was constantly evolving in her professional capacity, in moments of reflection on her time at the UN, Shenaz feels abundantly blessed to have had these opportunities. Upon her retirement, Shenaz received the Certificate of Service from the then-Secretary-General for her numerous years of dedicated service to the UN.
Identity and success
In reflecting on how the Ismaili values of integrity, compassion in a pluralistic setting, and seeking and sharing knowledge have shaped her career, Shenaz recalls that she was noticed for her ethical workplace practices. She applied the principle of fairness when managing staff and their requests and “looked at everyone with the same eye.” She takes inspiration from Nelson Mandela exercising the ethic of forgiveness in victory, and Kofi Annan, seeing his humility and modeling of pluralistic values first-hand. In today’s material world, Shenaz’s faith reminds her to be compassionate, “to others and to ourselves,” to respect different views, to seek knowledge, and to serve others.
With global trends showing a rise in conflicts and the space for acceptance shrinking, the encouragement of diversity embodied by the Ismaili faith is important to all four women. Nazneen contends that “being Ismaili has given us a bit of edge, a solid environment that allows us a particular approach towards people who are less fortunate,” and an inclination towards development. For Samina, growing up part of a community that encourages empowerment of women helped her navigate and thrive in the society around her. The emphasis on the values of hard work, kindness, and generosity that Samina was exposed during her upbringing meant that she easily adjusted to different contexts, and does not see cultural differences as barriers: “Human beings are meant to be diverse, that is our strength.” The women also see a strong link between these Ismaili values and the UN’s principles of equality, pluralism, diversity, and justice. Shenaz notes that the diversity of the Ismaili community is mirrored at the UN.
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The UN also has historic connections with the Imamat and the Noorani family. Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah was President of the League of Nations in 1937, the precursor to the UN; Prince Alykhan was the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, until his passing; in 1966, Prince Sadruddin became the youngest, and ultimately longest serving, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and was the UN Coordinator for Assistance to Afghanistan, and UN Executive Delegate of Iraq-Turkey border areas; and Prince Amyn served in the United Nations Secretariat’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs from 1965 to 1968.
This link continues today; Nahla points to the words of, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who delivered the Global Centre for Pluralism’s Annual Pluralism Lecture in June this year, highlighting the UN and AKDN’s shared values. Their long-standing partnership was illustrated during the Deputy SG’s subsequent visit to the world-class Aga Khan Hospital in Bamyan, which partners with the UN Population Fund. Based on shared values and a commitment to the highest standards, Nahla expects the UN-AKDN relationship to deepen in coming years.
Role of the UN over the years and today: “It is the best body we have”
All four women see a critical role for a body that, in the words of Samina, “creates a unique space for dialogue among all nations,” that collectively “keeps an eye on challenges for the human race,” that encourages cooperation and considers all member states and their citizens equal. Particularly in a world where challenges such as climate change, disasters, and conflict do not respect borders, the role of the UN is clear to Nahla – “Where else are issues going to be addressed? What is the alternative?” Nazneen uses the example of HIV to illustrate the importance of the UN’s multilateral approach, particularly on the African continent: “If we didn’t have the UN, we wouldn’t be where we are with the response to the epidemic.”
Shenaz reminisces about a particular scene from the 50th UN General Assembly, saying it was “such a memorable and historic sight” to see the nameplates of famed leaders in the General Assembly Hall – Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin, Benazir Bhutto, and Yasser Arafat, to name a few. She prefers however not to compare that time to today’s UN at 74 years; for Shenaz, “change is always imminent”, and she is optimistic for the future.
The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “a blueprint for world we should build today” according to Nahla, are a global all-inclusive agenda based on the UN’s core values. The collection of 17 Goals aim to create peaceful and inclusive societies by the year 2030. Nazneen discusses examples of the UN’s unique role in addressing the shrinking space for civil society at national levels and believes that, in the absence of the UN as a broker, we would see a harmful reduction in the important space civil society occupies.
The evolution of gender at the UN
Nahla recalls that the 15-year commemoration of Women, Peace, and Security, in the Security Council was the largest open debate in the history of that body, proving that issues relating to gender are both important and are attracting greater acknowledgement. The creation of UN Women – a full agency dealing with gender issues – was an important evolution of the UN in 2010. She says the agency has “an incredibly important mandate to ensure the UN as a whole delivers on 100% of the population.” Nahla, Nazneen and Samina have had experience with the agency or its precursor and contend that this change has resulted in significant gains. Today, gender equality is high on the agenda in the policy space, leading to the formation of interagency networks, gender strategies, and improved reporting. Internal efforts at senior levels to achieve gender parity have been amplified, as evidenced by the Secretary-General's goal of gender parity in the selection of heads of UN agencies.
However, they note challenges, including funding incommensurate with a growing mandate, a misunderstanding that “gender” relates only to women, a discomfort with the shifting balance of power as women take on new roles, and a growing pushback in some parts of the world against women’s rights. While the discussion on women’s economic empowerment has gained traction and is generally considered a “safe” topic, Nazneen argues that one “cannot have economic empowerment without making decisions about her own body” and that these rights are therefore indivisible. Samina cautions that a balanced approach is necessary to achieve the agency’s mandate, with the provision of technical support, measurable indicators of progress, and appropriate budget allowances.
Inspiration for the future
While appreciating the gains the UN has made over the years, the organization should not be over-romanticized. Nazneen advises: “Don’t join the UN to say you’re in the UN; the glamor ends on day three, just like any other workplace.” She reminds us to be practical, level-headed, and extremely patient. All four women look forward to the energy and critical thinking approach young people bring in improving the UN. “Multilateralism is not dead,” says Nazneen. “What we took for granted before, we can’t now because of a polarized world.” However, the rise in activism, young energy, and an interest in a global approach to crises such as climate change provide new opportunities and reasons for optimism.
In reflecting on their careers, Samina, Nahla, Nazneen, and Shenaz all agree on the importance of mentorship, with some saying they may have not progressed as far as they have without a good mentor. Having supervisors with a true agenda to motivate staff who helped them grow in their own thinking, encouraged self-reflection, modeled good leadership, trusted them, and provided opportunities for growth, played a pivotal role in the advancement of their careers. These successful women who have dedicated their inspiring careers to the noble mission of the United Nations all now embody the characteristics of inspiring leaders and act as mentors themselves with the hope of inspiring the next generation of professionals in international public service.
Nadia Hasham is a senior analyst at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
