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Rez Gardi

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Rez Gardi
ڕێژین گەردی
Gardi in 2018
Born
Rêz Gerdî

Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan
NationalityNew Zealander
EducationHarvard University (LLM) – 2019
Occupation(s)International lawyer, activist
Years active2016–present
Known forHuman rights activism
AwardsYoung New Zealander of the Year Award (2017)
UNYA Outstanding Youth Delegate Award (2019)
Harvard Satter Human Rights Fellowship (2019)

Rez Gardi (Kurdish: ڕێژین گەردی, Rêz Gerdî; born 11 August[1]) is a Kurdish New Zealander international lawyer and human rights activist. She was awarded the Young New Zealander of the Year for 2017 for her services to human rights.[2]

Life

[edit]

Gardi was born in a United Nations refugee camp in Quetta, Pakistan as her parents fled from persecution in their homeland of Kurdistan.[3]

Gardi's mother fled the Kurdish region of Iraq when her village Sedakan was attacked by chemical weapons during the Anfal campaign. Gardi's grandmother and two aunts were killed in an attack by Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath regime and her grandfather was disabled. Gardi's father is from the Hakkari region in the Kurdish region of Turkey and his family fled to Iraqi Kurdistan due to oppressive treatment by the Turkish Government. They then fled from Iraq to Iran as political refugees.[4] Gardi's parents met as teenagers as part of a Kurdish human rights movement in Iran. Gardi's parents were forced to flee Iran when it became too dangerous for human rights activists. While fleeing across the Iran-Pakistan border in 1989, Gardi and her family were saved by a border guard, who chose not to report them hiding in the truck they were being smuggled in.[5]

Gardi's family were accepted as political refugees in Pakistan and remained there until 1998 when they were resettled to New Zealand as part of the UNHCR resettlement programme.

Gardi has said that she was forced to lie about her Kurdish heritage at school to avoid Islamophobic bullying in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.[6]

Gardi has two siblings: one sister and one brother.

Education

[edit]

Gardi graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts (double major) in 2016 from the University of Auckland, where she was recognized as 40 under 40 alumni.[7] She completed a Master of Law at Harvard Law School in 2019,[8] becoming the first Kurd in history to graduate from Harvard Law.[9] At Harvard Law School, she received the Dean's Award for Community Leadership[10] and was a Class Day Speaker at the Harvard Law School Commencement.[11][12] Gardi was awarded a Harvard Satter Human Rights Fellowship for her work in Iraq.[13]

[edit]

Gardi is qualified to practice as a lawyer in the United States and New Zealand. Gardi is an international lawyer working in the Kurdish region of Iraq.[14]

Gardi worked as a Legal Officer at the New Zealand Human Rights Commission. Prior to that she was a solicitor at New Zealand law firm Chapman Tripp in the litigation team.[15] She has previously worked at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Kenya.[16]

Gardi is a co-founder of the Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies at the University of Auckland.[17] Gardi has represented New Zealand at various international conferences. She represented New Zealand at the Global Refugee Youth Consultations and helped form the Global Youth Advisory Council to the UNHCR, she also has spoken at the UNHCR-NGO Consultations, and the High Commissioner's Dialogue on Protection Challenges, all in Geneva, the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Conference in Bangkok, the Women Deliver Conference in Copenhagen and the OECD Forum in Paris.[18]

Gardi supports young refugees to access higher education.[19] She is the founder of ‘Empower’, a youth-led organisation aiming to address the underrepresentation of refugees in higher education. Empower enables refugee youth through education, leadership, and capacity-building. She is also working on projects in camps across Iraq and provides workshops to foster participation, leadership, and training opportunities for young refugees.[20]

Gardi advocates for gender equality, particularly the many different forms of discrimination ethnic and minority women face in New Zealand.[21] She is a young leader for SuperDIVERSE Women and raises awareness about the issues minority women face.[22]

Gardi is an advocate for New Zealand increasing its refugee quota.[23][24]

Awards

[edit]

Gardi was awarded the Young New Zealander of the Year for 2017 for her services to human rights.[2] She was a Women of Influence finalist in the Global category for 2017.[25] In 2018 she was selected as a finalist of the Next Magazine Woman of the Year Awards.[26] In 2019, she was awarded the Outstanding Youth Delegate Award at the UN Youth Assembly.[20]

Gardi was awarded a Harvard Satter Human Rights Fellowship for her work in Iraq.[27]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Our Team". Empower. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Young New Zealander of the Year".
  3. ^ "National Portrait: Rez Gardi, lawyer, resettled refugee, outstanding young New Zealander".
  4. ^ "Q & A: Interview with Rez Gardi, The Young New Zealander of the Year".
  5. ^ "Instagram and science: The Samoan Scientist slashing the 'dumb coconut' stereotype". Stuff. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Bullies made bomb noises". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Kurdish Refugee Makes Lawyer and Young New Zealander of the Year".
  8. ^ Sulaivany, Karzan (16 May 2016). "Female Kurdish Harvard Law graduate ready to fight for rights of Kurds". www.kurdistan24.net. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Female Kurdish Harvard Law graduate ready to fight for rights of Kurds".
  10. ^ "Students honored at 2019 Class Day ceremony".
  11. ^ "Harvard Law School Class Day Ceremony 2019" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Harvard Law School Class Day 2019 – Full ceremony". YouTube.
  13. ^ "HRP Awards 2019–2020 Post-Graduate Fellowships".
  14. ^ "Kiwi-Kurdish lawyer on her work in human rights and advocacy for Kurds".
  15. ^ "New Zealand Law Society". www.lawsociety.org.nz.
  16. ^ "Lawyer named Young New Zealander of the Year".
  17. ^ "Our people – The University of Auckland". www.auckland.ac.nz. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Refugee rubs shoulders with world leaders". NZ Herald. 21 May 2016.
  19. ^ Court, Raewyn (27 July 2017). "Millennials passion projects". NZ Herald.
  20. ^ a b "Rez Gardi". Friendship Ambassadors Foundation.
  21. ^ "Ethnic and minority women face many different forms of discrimination in New Zealand". NZ Herald. 13 February 2017.
  22. ^ "Super Diverse Women Q&A: Rez Gardi". NZ Herald. 13 February 2017.
  23. ^ "Rez Gardi's story: 'I was a refugee'".
  24. ^ "Interview: Rez Gardi".
  25. ^ "Women of Influence Category Finalists".
  26. ^ "Finalists For Next Magazine 2018 Woman Of The Year". www.scoop.co.nz. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  27. ^ "HRP Awards 2019–2020 Post-Graduate Fellowships".
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