Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra

Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra is a Mauritian lawyer , politician and diplomat . Aumeeruddy-Cziffra was the first Muslim female member of the Mauritian National Assembly and the first Muslim female minister of the island state. Since 2012, she has been the judge of the Public Bodies Appeal Tribunal (PBAT), a court to resolve disputes between the state, its officials and local communities.

Life

After graduating from high school, Aumeeruddy-Cziffra studied law at the Inns of Court School of Law in Great Britain. She campaigned for women's and children's rights in Mauritius at an early age and founded the Ligue Feministe in 1974 and Solidarité Femme in Mauritius in 1977 .

Political career

In 1976 she was elected as the first Muslim female MP to the Mauritian National Assembly and represented the constituency of Rose Hill for 15 years. Together with 19 other women, she fought against the then Immigration and Deportation Act , which forbade the wives of foreign officials to receive residence status in Mauritius. She won the lawsuit in 1981, and after being appointed Minister for Women's Rights and Family in 1982, she herself passed the amendment as head of department.

A short time after moving to the ministerial office, she rose to the position of attorney general for the country (1982–83), after which she returned to the government as minister of justice. After her ministerial office, Aumeeruddy-Cziffra became mayor of the second largest city in Mauritius, Beau Bassin-Rose Hill, in 1987 . Aumeeruddy-Cziffra was appointed ambassador for Mauritius between 1992 and 1995 and was also accredited in Paris, Rome, Madrid and Lisbon and was also a representative at UNESCO. From 1993 to 1994 she headed the Permanent Council of the Francophonie and organized, among other things, the fifth Conference of the Francophonie in Mauritius.

From 1994 Aumeeruddy-Cziffra intensified her commitment to women's rights, among other things she founded the Femmes Afrique Solidarité in Geneva together with other colleagues in 1996 . She is still a member of the organization, but is now only active on the advisory board. She was also a member of the board of the Institute for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (Banjul, Gambia) and Interights (London). From 2003 to 2011 she was the child ombudswoman of Mauritius.

Since 2012, Aumeeruddy-Cziffra has headed the Public Bodies Appeal Tribunal (PBAT), a court to resolve disputes between the state, its officials and local communities.

Awards

Aumeeruddy-Cziffra received an honorary doctorate from the Sorbonne I in 2004 . In 2006 she received the Tombouctou Award for her peace work by the Femmes Afrique Solidarité in Africa. On July 14, 2015, she was accepted as a knight in the French Legion of Honor .

Private

Aumeeruddy-Cziffra is married and has two children. Her mother tongue is Mauritian Creole , she also speaks English and French.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} SHIRIN AUMEERUDDY-CZIFFRA. International Bureau for Children's Rights, accessed November 22, 2016 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Nomination: Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra présidente de la Public Bodies Appeal Tribunal. L'Express, February 27, 2012, accessed November 22, 2016 (French). 
3. ↑ Public Bodies Appeal Tribunal: Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra reste en fonction. In: L'Express. February 6, 2015, accessed November 22, 2016 (French).