An Australian of the Year 2016 finalist. Insightful, inspirational and courageous
Rabia Siddique is an inspirational woman with an intriguing background that's sure to engage audiences. She is a criminal and human rights lawyer, a retired British Army officer, a former terrorism and war crimes prosecutor, professional speaker, trainer, MC, facilitator and published author.
After starting as a criminal defence lawyer and youngest ever federal prosecutor in Western Australia, Rabia moved to the United Kingdom in 1998 where she eventually commissioned as a Legal Officer in the British Army in 2001.
An altercation occurred during that period that gained worldwide attention which riled Siddique after her occurrence within the incident was covered up by the Government. After rescuing two Special Force soldiers from Iraqi insurgents in Basra, Rabia’s colleague received a Military Cross whilst her participation was merely dismissed. In a fight for justice, she brought the case against the UK Ministry of Defence and won.
She went on to become a Crown Advocate in the British Counter Terrorism Division, which saw her prosecuting Al Qaeda terrorists, hate crimes and advising on war crime prosecutions in The Hague.
In 2013, Rabia authored and published her memoir ‘Equal Justice’, which told the story of her strength, resilience, bravery, conviction and determination.
Rabia has achieved multiple honours including a Queen commendation in 2006 for her human rights work in Iraq, been a runner up for Australian Woman of the Year UK in 2009, been named as one of the finalists in the 2014 Telstra Business Women’s Award as well as been categorised as one of the 100 most influential women in Australia by Westpac and the Australian Financial Review.
Siddique has also been featured across mediamedia in Australia, the United Kingdom, South East Asia and the Middle East in print, radio, interviews and television forms. Last year she received a standing ovation from an audience of 1700 for her TEDx talk ‘Courage Under Fire’.
Speaking multiple languages, running in several marathons, undertaking human rights and community aid in developing and developed countries as well as raising triplet boys, Rabia Siddique is an insightful woman who aims to raise awareness of inequality within countries and what individuals can do to assist. She has earnt an international reputation as an outstanding motivational and inspirational speaker, resilience and leadership coach as well as an advocate for women in leadership, diversity and equality worldwide.