Rabia Siddique - Humanitarian, Speaker and Author
24 Aug 2015
Having an AK47 pointed at your head fortunately is a rare occupational hazard for a lawyer. However it was one that Rabia Siddique faced in 2005 when as a British Army legal officer she was asked to help negotiate the release of two hostages being held in Basra, Iraq.
Rabia was not a trained hostage negotiator but she had gained the trust and respect of the local Iraqi Judges during her deployment to Iraq and when negotiations broke down they asked for her. A woman. An Australian born British Army Officer. A Muslim by birth who had made the effort to learn Arabic in order to carry out her role.
The situation was tense and was very nearly fatal but eventually she, a fellow male Army officer and the two hostages were released alive. On return to base the male Army officer who had hid behind her when the gun was to her head was whisked away for a formal debriefing. She was given a cup of tea and told to go and have a shower. She was never debriefed, her report of what happened and what she had heard (remember she spoke Arabic) was never sought and her role in the incident was ignored. The male Army officer later received the Military Cross for his “bravery”.
If Rabia showed great courage in Iraq arguably she showed even greater courage when she subsequently took on the British Army for the discrimination she suffered in Iraq and later back in England.
I first became aware of Rabia when my sister who lives in Australia went to a book festival where Rabia spoke promoting her book “Equal Justice”. My sister kindly bought me a copy of the book, lining up to get Rabia to inscribe the book for me.
I received the book last year while I was prosecuting a particularly harrowing trial involving childhood sexual abuse. After the trial I picked up the book and was immediately drawn into the absorbing story of Rabia’s life.
Rabia was born in Australia of an Australian mother and Indian, Muslim father. She grew up in Perth, and began her legal career as a criminal defence lawyer before becoming a federal prosecutor. Moving to the UK she worked in private practice before making the decision to join the Army as a legal officer, a role she saw as a stepping stone to international humanitarian law and the United Nations.
In Iraq she was required to advise the British Army on their legal obligations in a war zone and in particular monitor human rights abuses. After Iraq her employment conditions with the Army deteriorated and after taking on the Army in a personal grievance case and winning she returned home to Australia where she is currently working as Legal Counsel to the Commissioner of Western Australian Police. Oh and she is also the mother of 6 year old triplets.
What made her story so remarkable for me was that as a child she was sexually abused by a neighbour she called Poppa – a man considered her surrogate grandfather. Perhaps understandably this fact is mentioned but not dwelled on it the book.
Being sexually abused by a trusted relative can have devastating long term effects on young victims. No doubt this was true also for Rabia and yet what she remembers is the strong feeling of injustice when eventually she told her parents and they decided to deal with it without involving the authorities. Her abuser was never held to account, while she had to continue to live with the aftereffects of the abuse. The gate between the neigbouring properties was merely locked. At least the abuse which had gone on for the best part of a year stopped. The fact Rabia went onto to become a successful scholar and lawyer indicates the character and resilience she showed at an early age.
When the Canterbury Women’s Legal Association committee were discussing the 2015 conference and the topic of keynote speaker was raised I immediately knew Rabia would be the perfect speaker. It didn’t take much to convince my fellow committee members.
Fortunately Rabia was available and willing to come to New Zealand to speak at the 2015 Professional Women’s Conference and our thanks goes to the New Zealand Law Foundation for their support in bringing Rabia to Christchurch.
As well as working full time and being a mother to triplets Rabia is in demand as a professional speaker. She has a reputation as an outstanding motivational and inspirational speaker (see rabiasiddique.com.au for examples of her work).
Rabia offers a unique insight into many aspects of 21st Century life. Her father, university educated and a pilot in India, suffered daily discrimination when the family moved to Australia and settled in Perth. Rabia herself was acutely aware of being different, being Muslim, coloured not white, with an unpronounceable name. Growing up all she wanted to be was just like her classmates, blonde and blue eyed, she even thought of a name she would prefer - Caroline Jones. Despite this by high school she had learnt to embrace her diversity. She now speaks several languages and is a highly regarded lawyer.
She would be the first to admit she is no superwoman and that raising triplets is as challenging as perhaps that life threatening situation in Iraq.
Rabia’s keynote address will focus on her personal story and her insights into the challenges professional women (and men) face including trying to achieve that mythical work/life balance, tackling unconscious bias and prejudice and the realties of being a working parent. She will explore the subversive as well as the real impediments to true equality in the community and in the workplace, and the communication and negotiation skills required to find your own voice, address and over come these impediments.
The Canterbury Women’s Legal Association Professional Women’s Conference is being held on 9 October 2015 at Rydes Hotel.
Kathy Basire
Rabia Siddique
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