Rabia Siddique
Multi award-winning international humanitarian lawyer, hostage survivor and passionate advocate for justice, equality and inclusion
Rabia is a multi award winning international humanitarian lawyer, retired British Army senior officer, former war crimes and terrorism prosecutor and hostage survivor.
Born in Perth, the eldest of two children, Rabia attributes the discrimination and racism she witnessed her Indian Muslim migrant father suffer in the mid 1970s, as well as being a child abuse survivor, to her passion for and commitment to justice, equality and inclusion.
Rabia graduated with a Bachelors of Arts and Law from the University of Western Australia and after several years of practising law in Western Australia and Singapore, she moved to the United Kingdom in the late 1990s to pursue her calling as a humanitarian lawyer.
Over the next 13 years Rabia undertook humanitarian aid work in Asia, South America, Europe and the Middle East, for which she was decorated by Queen Elizabeth II. She served in the British Army from 2001 - 2008, during which time she was involved in a high profile hostage incident in Iraq, which later resulted in her being diagnosed with PTSD and suing the British Armed Forces and Government for discrimination .
This landmark case held both the British government and military to account for their systemic discrimination of women and ethnic minorities, and led to profound changes in policies, attitudes and workplace culture.
Rabia is now also an acclaimed story teller, inspirational speaker, leadership consultant, media commentator and human rights advocate, as well as a proud wife and mother of triplet boys, step mother of three girls and a boy, and human mother of Holly the Westiepoo puppy!
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