Ras Adiba shortlisted for IPC'S International Women's Day award

The awards primarily recognise women in the Paralympic Movement who inspire and emulate the Paralympic ideals and serve as positive role models and who have received hundreds of nominations.

According to an announcement on IPC's official website, she is among three candidates for the leadership category, which recognises sustained and consistent leadership over a period of time, advocacy, overall contributions and impact promoting and supporting women in sport.

The other two candidates are Zimbabwe's National Paralympic Committee (NPC) secretary-general and coach Oripa Mubika and Asian Paralympic Committee's Women in Sport Committee chairperson Prof Fatemeh Rakhshani, who is also Iran NPC vice-president for two terms.

Ras Adiba, who is also the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chairman, has vast experience in broadcasting and has represented the country in para badminton and shooting at the international level.

"With a commitment to inspire and transform the lives of persons with disabilities from within Parliament, she (Ras Adiba) is driving change and was chosen by their Prime Minister in 2020 to represent the Persons with Disability Community," IPC said.

IPC also listed Malebogo Molefhe of Botswana, Yip Pin Xiu (Singapore) and Holly Robinson (New Zealand) for the Emerging Leaderships category, while the Canada Paralympic Committee, Paralympics New Zealand and Mongolian Paralympic Committee were nominated for the NPC and International Federations (IFs) category.

The winners will be decided by the IPC's Women in Sport Committee, chaired by Rita van Driel, and will be announced on March 8 in conjunction with the International Women's Day.

"The 2022 International Women's Day Recognition supports one of the IPC's key strategic objectives, which is to promote gender balance in leadership positions across the Paralympic Movement. All of the women and organisations nominated this year made exceptional progress in 2021.

"What is clear to the Women in Sport Committee from all the Award applications we received this year is that across the Movement are many women bringing disability inclusion to the heart of governments, delivering change to the sporting infrastructure of their country and having an impact for persons with disabilities in their communities," added van Driel.

Meanwhile, Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) president Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin, in a statement today, said the council decided to submit a nomination for Ras Adiba based on her vast contributions to the Paralympic Movement.

"We are very happy for Senator Datuk Ras Adiba for being shortlisted for the prestigious award honouring women who have contributed to the Paralympic Movement. She deserves the award for her determination and perseverance in not only her personal involvement in disability sports but also her struggle to promote the welfare of persons with disability in the country.

"I am glad the government has made the right choice in appointing her as a senator in the House of Senate of the Malaysian Parliament to represent the Persons with Disability (PwD) community," he said.

Ras Adiba created history in November 2020 when she was appointed as the chairman of Bernama, becoming the first woman to hold the post.

She is also the president of OKU Sentral, which champions sport and empowers PwDs, and stands as the only female sharpshooter in para-sports, having won seven gold medals in the 10m shooting event at the National Paralympic Games.

According to PCM, among her impressive sports achievements was writing the record in the Malaysia Book of Records when she pushed her wheelchair from Johor Bahru through Melaka and Negeri Sembilan to Putrajaya, covering a distance of 490 kilometres in 10 days.

Ras Adiba was presented with the Anugerah Tokoh Srikandi Negara in 2014 and the Anugerah Wanita Waja - Ikon Seri Waja in 2021.