Summary
Roshika Deo is a Fijian feminist and activist who founded the Be The Change Campaign/Movement. The movement advocates for various rights and aims to transform Fiji’s social, political, economic, and cultural landscape.
Career edit
In 2009, Deo received the Paul Harris Fellowship Award for her commitment to community service, becoming the youngest person in the Pacific region to achieve this recognition.[1] She was further recognized for her human rights activism when she was nominated for the Amnesty International Human Rights Defender Award in 2013 and received the US Secretary of State International Women of Courage Award from Michelle Obama in 2014.[2]
Deo ventured into politics as an independent candidate in the 2014 general elections. Campaigning on rights-based issues, she declined support from well-known parties due to their lack of clear stances on her core principles. Although she fell short of the required votes to win the election, she established the Be The Change Party, aiming to give young people in Fiji a voice and advocate for various human rights causes.[3][4]
Deo's feminist activism and political career has garnered international attention.[3][5][6]
Personal life edit
Roshika Deo belongs to an Indo-Fijian Hindu family. Her father, Indar Deo, was a councillor, a politician for the National Alliance Party, and a businessman who now lives in Australia.
Deo attended Suva Grammar School and holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of the South Pacific (USP).
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Balance" (PDF). Fiji Women's Rights Movement. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
- ^ "Bios of 2014 Award Winners". state.gov. Archived from the original on 2014-03-07.
- ^ a b Developmental Leadership Program (DLP) (2016-02-26), Priya Chattier: The political journey of Roshika Deo in Fiji's 2014 elections, retrieved 2017-03-07
- ^ Chattier, Priya. "Fiji's women speak up in growing numbers inside parliament". The Conversation. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
- ^ "Fiji's Roshika Deo - outlier, positive deviant or simply feisty feminist?". www.dlprog.org. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
- ^ Pacific Women. "Fiji and Vanuatu Rise to End Violence Against Women".