Lesley Julia Abdela (born 1945) is a British expert on women's rights and political participation and women, peace and security where she has worked as an adviser in 50 countries to governments and IGOs (United Nations, CoE, IOM, OSCE),

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. She is also a broadcaster and women's rights campaigner.

Biography

Abdela was born in 1945 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and educated at

Queen Anne's School Queen Anne's School is a private boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18, situated in the suburb of Caversham just north of the River Thames and Reading town centre and occupying a campus. There are around 450 pupils. Nearly half are ...

, Chatelard School, Hammersmith College of Art and Building and the

London College of Printing The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

. Abdela won the UK Woman of Europe award for work seeking the empowerment of women in Central and Eastern Europe and in 1996 was the first Political Editor for

Cosmopolitan Magazine ''Cosmopolitan'' (stylized in all caps) is an American quarterly fashion and entertainment magazine for women, first published based in New York City in March 1886 as a family magazine; it was later transformed into a literary magazine and, sinc ...

. In 2006, Abdela was voted into the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

s poll "Top 50 Heroes of Our Time". She was chosen July 2007 United States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs European Alumni of the Month. In the Queen's Birthday Honours 1990 Abdela was appointed as a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for "services to the advancement of Women in Politics and Local Government". In 2007, Abdela was reported by the BBC as having found the grave of Barbara Bodichon in the tiny churchyard of

Brightling Brightling is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is located on the Weald north-west of Battle and west of Robertsbridge. The village lies in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty a ...

, East Sussex, about from London. It was in a state of disrepair, with its railings rusted and breaking away, and the inscription on the tomb almost illegible. A fund for its repair was underway. The historian Dr Judith Rowbotham at

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

issued a further appeal for funds to restore the grave and its surroundings. About £1,000 was raised. The money raised by the village was used to sand-blast the railings and repaint them, and to clean the granite tomb. Abdela has been: * Member of the Governing Board of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

(1995-2000) * Governor of

(1997-2000) * Board Member of the International Institute for Environment and Development (1992-1997) * Co-founder and Leader of 'The 300 GROUP' for Women In Politics (1980-1985) *

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Parliamentary Candidate for the General Election of 1979 * Policy Researcher for

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

and

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

(1977-1979) Abdela is a senior partner in Shevolution, a

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

consultancy, and lives in

Burwash, East Sussex Burwash, archaically known as Burghersh, is a rural village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. Situated in the High Weald of Sussex some inland from the port of Hastings, it is located south-west of Hurst Gre ...

Works

*Abdela, Lesley and Tim Symonds (ed.), ''Breaking through the glass ceilings.'', Metropolitan Authorities Recruitment Agency, (1991), Solihull. . *Abdela, Lesley, ''Do it! : walk the talk : a practical guide for employers on how to change the gender culture in the workplace.'', Metropolitan Authorities Recruitment Agency, (1995) Solihull, . *Abdela, Lesley, ''What women want : a guide to creating a better and fairer life for women in the UK,'', The Body Shop, (1994).Lesley Abdela Explained.
Retrieved 24 February 2013. *Abdela, Lesley, ''A strange old mother : no press pass for women’s magazines. Violations of rights in Britain; 15,'', Charter88 Enterprises, (1994), London. . *Abdela, Lesley, ''Women with X appeal : women politicians in Britain today.'', Macdonald Optima. (1989), London. .

References

External links

Imperial War Museum archives: to search for recently acquired Lesley Abdela recordings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdela, Lesley Living people Alumni of the London College of Printing British feminists English women journalists English people of Greek descent Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Burwash People educated at Queen Anne's School 1945 births