Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra (born 15 October 1948) is a British-born

Mauritian Mauritians (singular Mauritian; ; Creole: ''Morisien'') are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a melting pot of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious peoples. Mauritian is made up ...

lawyer, politician and diplomat. She is the head of the Public Bodies Appeal Tribunal (PBAT), which settles disputes of civil servants and local communities in matters related to recruitment and sanctions since 2009. She was Minister of Women’s Rights and Family Affairs from 1982 to 1983, and became the Mayor of

Beau Bassin-Rose Hill Beau Bassin-Rose Hill (or Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill; ; ) is a town in Mauritius, located in the Plaines Wilhems District. It is administered by the Municipal Council of Beau Bassin-Rose Hill and has a population of 147,066 inhabitants, making it the ...

in 1987. She was

Ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

for protection of children's rights from 2004 to 2011. She was the first

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

woman to be elected as a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

and in a ministerial position in mauritius and currently the first muslim woman to be

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the National Assembly

Biography

She was born on 15 October 1948. Her native language is Mauritian Creole, while she speaks English and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. Aumeeruddy-Cziffra completed her law degree from the Inns of Court School of Law in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. She was a women's activist in her early years and started Ligue Féministe in 1974, Solidarité Femmes in Mauritius in 1977. Along with 19 other women, she fought against the Immigration and Deportation Acts, which prevented spouses of foreign officials from seeking resident status. The case was argued with two set of victims, namely married women and single women espoused by the foreign officials. The court initially accepted only the case of married women. She eventually won the case in 1981. From 1982 to 1983, she was Minister of Women’s Rights and Family Affairs. She was the first

woman to be elected as MP and to serve a ministerial position. During the same years, she served as Ambassador to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, Member of Parliament in Rose-Hill, and Attorney General for the Government of Mauritius. She became the Mayor of

in 1987. Between 1992 and 1995, Aumeeruddy-Cziffra served as the Ambassador of Mauritius to Paris, Rome, Madrid and Lisbon. In September 2000, she became a Chairperson (Chairman) for

Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation The Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is the national state broadcaster of the Republic of Mauritius, that is the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Agaléga. The historical headquarters in Curepipe were relocated in Réduit, Moka. It ...

(MBC). She also served as Minister of Justice of Mauritius, President of the Permanent Council of the Francophonie and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF), Board member of the Agency of the Francophonie, Board of Directors Member of the Institute for Human Rights & Development (Gambia), Board Member of

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 ...

Femme Africa Solidarité, and founding member of

Women in Law and Development in Africa. She held the position of

for protection of children rights from 2004 to 2011. In March 2011, she asked the government to adopt the optional protocol to facilitate collaboration between Mauritius and other countries on the war against sexual child abuse. In 2012, she became head of the Public Bodies Appeal Tribunal (PBAT), which settles disputes of civil servants and local communities in matters related to recruitments and sanctions. In 2015, her mandate was renewed for three more years. In March 2018, the PBAT's governance was reshuffled, and Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra's mandate was once again renewed.

Awards

* 2004: Honorary doctorate from the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

Panthéon-Sorbonne for introducing a faculty of law to Mauritius and service overall. * 2006: Tombouctou Award for her peace initiatives in Africa with FAS. * 14 July 2015: Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. She is married to a teacher and the pair have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aumeeruddy-Cziffra, Shirin Members of the National Assembly (Mauritius) 1948 births Living people Speakers of the National Assembly (Mauritius) Mauritian Muslims Mauritian Militant Movement politicians Mauritian people of Indian descent People from Plaines Wilhems District Mauritian women diplomats Permanent delegates of Mauritius to UNESCO Ambassadors of Mauritius to France Ambassadors of Mauritius to Italy Ambassadors of Mauritius to Spain Ambassadors of Mauritius to Portugal Justice ministers of Mauritius Women's ministers of Mauritius Ministers of foreign affairs of Mauritius Female foreign ministers Women government ministers of Mauritius Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century women politicians 21st-century women politicians Mauritian women ambassadors