Ons Jabeur, the celebrated Tunisian tennis player, isn’t just chasing victories on the court these days; she’s also setting her sights on making a meaningful impact beyond tennis. In 2024, she took on a new role as an ambassador for the World Food Programme (WFP), a move that allows her to channel her energy into a cause she deeply cares about: the empowerment of women.
Speaking to BBC Sport Africa ahead of International Women’s Day, which falls on a Saturday this year, Jabeur shared her motivation. “I wanted to use my platform to represent who I am and where I come from and to be a force for change in the world,” she explained.
While part of her mission with the WFP involves raising awareness about global food insecurity, Jabeur, who is 30, emphasized that there’s another crucial focus: supporting women. “Many assume the WFP is solely about food, but it’s also about education and helping women,” she pointed out. “When women are supported, they can work and provide for their entire families, which is hugely important.”
In one of her first engagements as an ambassador, Jabeur visited several projects in Cairo. There, she witnessed firsthand the resilience and efforts of women striving to improve their lives. Jabeur recounted an experience where she helped make bread alongside a local woman. “She had such a big heart,” Jabeur remarked. “Even though she had so little, she almost gave me everything she made. I had to urge her to keep it and sell it instead.”
Jabeur was moved by the generosity she encountered, commenting, “Despite their circumstances, their generosity was boundless, and that’s something everyone should emulate.”
Education, particularly in vulnerable communities, is another issue close to her heart. She shared the story of a woman who began schooling later in life, attending along with her child. “I told her she was incredibly brave and that I was so proud of her,” Jabeur said, admiring the woman’s determination to pursue education she had previously never accessed.
Through her new role with the WFP, Jabeur is championing not just a cause but a collective human spirit that thrives on generosity, resilience, and empowerment.
