The rumours of Shah Rukh Khan visiting La Trobe turned out to be true. Yes, Bollywood superstar will be honoured with an Honorary Doctorate by La Trobe at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Global icon. Notably, La Trobe is the first Australian University to award Shah Rukh with an Honorary Doctor of Letters (honoris causa), in recognition of his efforts to support underprivileged children, his unwavering dedication to the fight for women’s empowerment through MEER Foundation and his unparalleled achievements in the Hindi film industry.
MEER foundation is a philanthropic foundation, which has been named after Shah Rukh Khan’s father Meer Taj Mohammed Khan. The main aim of the MEER foundation is to bring change at ground level and empowers women across the world.
The Foundation provides support to women victims of acid attacks and major burn injuries through a 360-degree approach that helps them with their medical treatment, legal aid, vocational training as well as rehabilitation and livelihood support. The foundation does not only provide help to acid attack victims but also they have sponsored treatment and surgeries for women and children at several hospitals located in India.
Shah Rukh Khan said that having his humanitarian endeavours recognised for the first time in Australia was a great honour. He said, “I’m proud to be conferred with a great University like La Trobe which has a long-standing relationship with Indian culture and impressive track record in advocating for women’s equality. I feel truly privileged to receive this Honorary Doctorate and I would like to sincerely thank La Trobe for choosing to recognise my achievements in such a humbling way.”
La Trobe will present Shah Rukh with his Honorary Doctorate on Friday 9 August at its Melbourne campus in Bundoora.
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