Leila Abukar ( so, Leyla Abukar, ar, ليلى أبو بكر) is a Somali-

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n political activist.

Personal life

Abukar was born between 1974 and 1975 in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. She attended a private school in

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

. When the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

broke out in 1991, her father and eldest brother were killed by militants. Abukar's mother subsequently took the family to a UN asylum center in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. The teenager therein volunteered as an office interpreter, teaching children and raising awareness on reproductive health. In 1997, Abukar moved alone to

through a women-at-risk program run by the Australian High Commission.

Soroptimist International Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organiza ...

group workers helped her settle into her new surroundings in

Moorooka Moorooka is a southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Moorooka had a population of 10,368 people. Geography Moorooka is by road south of Brisbane's central business district. ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, with her family later joining her. For her tertiary education, Abukar earned a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. She also holds a post-graduate diploma and master's degree in the discipline. Additionally, she has qualifications in Disability Support and Conflict Resolution. Abukar is

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

. She is multilingual, speaking seven languages. A mother of two children, a son (Abdi) and daughter (Diamond), she and her family reside in the Brisbane suburb of

Yeerongpilly Yeerongpilly is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yeerongpilly had a population of 1,934 people. Geography Yeerongpilly is south-west of the Brisbane GPO. A small section of the north eastern bound ...

Career

Abukar began her career as an interpreter for the Australian Department of Immigration. She has significant experience as a Community Advocate, working in a broad range of senior management posts with government, council and non-profit organisations. In addition, Abukar was previously a member of the Queensland Multicultural Roundtable, the Refugees Resettlement Advisory Council, and the Council for Multicultural Australia. She also campaigned against

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

. In 2014-2015, Abukar ran for office as the

Liberal National Party of Queensland The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2008 by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal Party and the National Party. At a federal level and in most other ...

candidate for the Yeerongpilly electoral district. She vied for the seat in a field of four other aspirants. If elected, she would have become the first Somali and Muslim to serve in the Queensland Parliament. Abukar came in second place, earning 31.4% of the total vote in the first round run-off and 36.7% in the final round against the eventual winner Mark Bailey of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

Awards

Abukar has received various awards and recognition for her societal work. In 2001, she was presented a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

by the Australian government for her contributions to Crisis Counselling, Advocacy and Settlement vis-a-vis the Somali community and other immigrant populations in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

References

External links

The Tally Room – Yeerongpilly – Queensland 2015Conversations with Richard Fidler: Leila Abukar, April 30, 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abukar, Leila 1970s births Australian Muslims Living people Ethnic Somali people Somalian activists Somalian women activists University of Queensland alumni Somalian emigrants to Australia People from Brisbane