Rashida Yoosuf () is a Maldivian politician and diplomat.

Early life and education

Yoosuf moved to

Malé Malé is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives. With a population of 211,908 in 2022 within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of , Malé is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city i ...

when she was 6 years old and studied in Madhrasathul Saniyya, till grade 10. She got a government scholarship to study in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

for teacher training. She received an opportunity to go to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

for a teacher education course. She also got an opportunity to do a school management course in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, as well as to do her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where she completed the latter in 1988. She received an award by then–

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ( ; born Abdulla Maumoon Khairi; 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician, statesman, diplomat and scholar who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Tra ...

in 1989.

Early career

Yoosuf started working as a teacher in

Majeediyya School Majeediyya School () is the first Maldivian government school, located in Malé, Maldives. It only accepted boys until the introduction of Primary Education in 2010, which allowed girls to attend the school as well. The English medium is follo ...

. After completing the teacher education course, she worked at the Educational Development Centre for 4 years before becoming a Supervisor at Majeediyya School. She was also the principal of Thaajuddeen School.

Career

Yoosuf first served as the Minister of Youth Women’s Affairs and Sports from 11 November 1993 to 6 November 1996, before the ministry underwent changes and was thus renamed to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Welfare, where she was the minister from 6 November 1996 to 11 November 1998, the ministry again was renamed to the Ministry of Women’s and Social Security, where she was the minister from 11 November 1998 to 9 October 2002. During her time as Minister, she attempted to open up discussion in the Maldives on the subject of

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

, but was unsuccessful. She also brought up to the Committee on Rights of the Child on how Maldives' resources on welfare and resources to the development of children were stretched. In 2002, she was appointed High Commissioner of the Maldives to Sri Lanka, becoming the first woman to reach such a high rank in the Maldivian diplomatic corps. She was the High Commissioner for 2 years. Yoosuf was reappointed to the Cabinet in 2008 by

, which caused controversy which some described as

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

. In 2008, she received an award from the Maldivian government for her work in the field of women's issues over the previous quarter-century. In 2010, Yoosuf and Aneesa Ahmed founded "Hope for Women", a

non-governmental organization 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 ...

that aims to eliminate violence against women. In 2011, she became Dhivehi Dhaulathuge Minister, holding that position until 2013. She was a member of the

Progressive Party of Maldives The Progressive Party of Maldives (, PPM), was a political party in the Maldives. The stated goal of the party was driving Maldives towards an independent and democratic, safe and secure, high income, high human capital, developed nation state w ...

Personal life

Yoosuf married Lucas Onyango, a

Kenyan The Demographics of Kenya is monitored by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya is a multi-ethnic state in East Africa. Its total population was at 47,558,296 as of the 2019 census. A national census was conducted in 1999, although t ...

national. After Lucas converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, he changed his name to Umar. Umar worked as a teacher in

Aminiya School Aminiya School is a primary and secondary school in Malé, the capital of the Maldives. It was the first girls' secondary school in the country and remained the only all-girls school until 14 June 2011. History It was founded in 1944 by M ...

, before his death. Yoosuf and Umar had one child named Amani.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Maldivian women diplomats High commissioners of the Maldives to Sri Lanka Progressive Party of Maldives politicians Maldivian women ambassadors 20th-century women politicians 21st-century diplomats Women government ministers of the Maldives 21st-century Maldivian women politicians 21st-century Maldivian politicians 20th-century Maldivian women 20th-century Maldivian politicians Women's ministers of the Maldives {{authority control