Key Points
- Sharifa Begum, a community champion from Dagenham, has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the King’s Birthday Honours List for her outstanding service and commitment to supporting women.
- Begum co-founded SHE Awards UK alongside her husband in 2018, an initiative launched to mark the centenary of women’s right to vote in the United Kingdom.
- Since its inception, the organisation has celebrated and highlighted the achievements of more than 300 women across various professions, communities, and wider society.
- In addition to her community work, Begum has been an employee of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) since 2001, working in customer-facing roles and currently training as a work coach.
- The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, publicly praised Begum’s dedication, calling her achievement a testament to the hard work and public service within the DWP.
Dagenham (East London Times) June 17, 2026 — A prominent Dagenham community leader has been officially recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List, receiving the prestigious British Empire Medal (BEM) for her relentless dedication to female empowerment and community service. Sharifa Begum, the co-founder of the grassroots initiative SHE Awards UK, received the honour following her long-standing efforts to celebrate the achievements of women both locally and nationally. The accolade highlights her dual impact as both a passionate community organizer and a dedicated long-term civil servant within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Who Is Sharifa Begum and Why Was She Awarded the British Empire Medal?
As reported by local media outlets covering the King’s Birthday Honours, the award specifically recognises Begum’s exceptional service to the community through SHE Awards UK. Begum co-founded the organization with her husband in 2018, deliberately timing the launch to coincide with the centenary of women’s right to vote in the United Kingdom.
The initiative was born out of a desire to create a sustainable platform that uncovers and applauds the unsung heroism of women across diverse sectors of British society.
Over the last eight years, the platform has grown from a local recognition scheme into a prominent national initiative.
According to official records from the organization, SHE Awards UK has celebrated the contributions of more than 300 women.
These recognitions span across grassroots community work, corporate professions, charity leadership, and cultural contributions, aiming to inspire younger generations of women to take up leadership roles within their respective fields.
In a formal statement following the announcement of the honours list, Sharifa Begum expressed gratitude for the recognition, shifting the spotlight onto the collective body of women she has supported. Begum stated:
“I am deeply honoured and humbled to receive the British Empire Medal. This recognition reflects the achievements of all the women SHE Awards UK has recognised over the years and the positive impact they have made within their communities.”
What Is the Significance of Her Work with the Department for Work and Pensions?
Beyond her voluntary efforts with SHE Awards UK, Begum maintains a robust professional career within the British civil service. She has been an employee of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) since 2001. Throughout her 25-year tenure with the department, Begum has consistently worked in frontline, customer-facing positions, directly assisting citizens navigating the state welfare and employment systems.
At the time of her royal recognition, sources within the department confirmed that Begum is currently undergoing professional development to become a specialized work coach.
In this upcoming role, her responsibilities will expand to providing one-on-one employment coaching, mentoring, and strategic career guidance to jobseekers within the community—a professional trajectory that closely mirrors her external voluntary work in uplifting others.
The intersection of her civil service career and her community work drew high-level praise from Whitehall. As reported by government press representatives, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, issued a statement praising Begum’s milestone and the broader culture of public service within the DWP staff. McFadden stated:
“I’m delighted to see the contributions of our DWP staff to their local communities recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List, it’s a real testament to their hard work and dedication to public service.”
Background of the SHE Awards UK Development
The establishment of SHE Awards UK in 2018 arrived during a significant cultural milestone in British history—the 100-year anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which first granted women over the age of 30 the right to vote.
This historical context served as the baseline strategy for Begum and her husband to address a persistent gap in modern media and civic recognition: the underrepresentation of minority and grassroots women leaders in formal honours systems.
Historically, formal state recognition via the British Empire Honours system faced criticism for disproportionately favoring high-ranking officials, corporate executives, and celebrities, frequently overlooking working-class and regional community champions.
Over the past decade, successive governments have placed an operational emphasis on diversifying the honours list, actively encouraging nominations for regional figures, women, and ethnic minority leaders who drive social cohesion.
The growth of SHE Awards UK from 2018 to 2026 reflects this broader societal shift. By establishing an independent infrastructure to validate, vet, and celebrate over 300 women, the initiative essentially created a pipeline of visible role models.
This structured community validation caught the attention of regional nominators, eventually culminating in Begum’s inclusion in the King’s Birthday Honours List.
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Future Predictions: How This Royal Recognition Will Affect Grassroots Women’s Organisations and DWP Jobseekers
The awarding of a British Empire Medal to a grassroots coordinator like Sharifa Begum is highly likely to have measurable micro-effects on both her local constituency in Dagenham and the operational scale of SHE Awards UK.
For grassroots women’s organisations and minority-led initiatives across Greater London, this development provides a substantial institutional endorsement.
Royal recognition elevates the structural credibility of SHE Awards UK, which will likely translate into increased leverage when the organization applies for public sector grants, corporate sponsorships, and municipal partnerships.
This newfound institutional backing can allow the group to expand its operations beyond annual awards ceremonies into year-round mentorship, business incubation, and educational workshops for young women.
For the specific audience of local jobseekers and DWP service users in Dagenham, Begum’s transition into a certified work coach backed by a BEM carries distinct practical benefits.
Navigating the modern employment market can be a highly stressful experience for vulnerable individuals or those facing long-term unemployment. Having a heavily decorated, proven community champion operating on the front lines of a local Jobcentre Plus changes the dynamic of state guidance.
Jobseekers under her purview will access an advisor with documented expertise in identifying hidden talent and fostering professional development.
Furthermore, Begum’s elevated profile inside the DWP may inspire internal policy adjustments, encouraging the department to integrate more community-focused, empathetic mentoring structures across its broader network of work coaches nationwide.
