Nebila Abdulmelik: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox person

| name = Nebila Abdulmelik

| image = ~~[[File:~~Headshot Nebila.jpg~~|thumb|A Headshot of Nebila Abdulmelik]]~~

| image = Headshot Nebila.jpg

| birth_date = 1987

| birth_place = [[Addis Ababa]], [[Ethiopia]]

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| nickname =

}}

”’Nebila Abdulmelik”’ is an Ethiopian feminist activist ~~and prominent women’s rights activist, writer, and photographer~~. She is known for spearheading the campaign #JusticeforLiz which was launched in order to seek justice for a 16 year old Kenyan girl called Liz who was raped in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2013-10-28|title=Trending: #JusticeforLiz and the rape that’s shocked Kenya|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24716407|access-date=2021-08-10}}</ref> Nebila ~~has previously served as~~ manager of media relations at [[FEMNET]], an institution that advocates for women’s growth in Africa.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ali |first1=Nada |title=Gender, Race, and Sudan’s Exile Politics Do We All Belong to This Country? |date=29 July 2015 |publisher=Lexington Books |page=177 |isbn=978-1-4985-0050-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dxoqCgAAQBAJ&dq=Nebila+Abdulmelik&pg=PA177}}</ref>

”’Nebila Abdulmelik”’ is an Ethiopian feminist activist. She is known for spearheading the campaign #JusticeforLiz which was launched in order to seek justice for a 16 year old Kenyan girl called Liz who was raped in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2013-10-28|title=Trending: #JusticeforLiz and the rape that’s shocked Kenya|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24716407|access-date=2021-08-10}}</ref> Nebila manager of media relations at [[FEMNET]], an institution that advocates for women’s growth in Africa.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ali |first1=Nada |title=Gender, Race, and Sudan’s Exile Politics Do We All Belong to This Country? |date=29 July 2015 |publisher=Lexington Books |page=177 |isbn=978-1-4985-0050-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dxoqCgAAQBAJ&dq=Nebila+Abdulmelik&pg=PA177}}</ref>

== Early life ==

Nebila was born in [[Addis Ababa]], [[Ethiopia~~]]. Nebila is~~ the youngest out of three sisters. Her father and her mother highly encouraged her and her sibling to seek higher knowledge and emphasised that higher education will grant them access to greater opportunities. Her mother left a huge impact on Nebila’s career, being one of the few women in her family to have higher education and work outside of the household at her age.<ref>{{Cite Web|title=One on One: Nebila Abdulmelik |url=https://www.femnet.org| access-date=2013-12-09}}</ref> Her father died when she was 13. As a young [[Muslim]] woman of [[Harari people|Harari]] origin, she says she suffered from discrimination, which influenced her in becoming an activist.<ref>{{cite web |last1=MARMIER |first1=Anne-Marie |title=Nebila ABDULMELIK |url=https://www.dictionnaire-creatrices.com/fiche-nebila-abdulmelik |website=Le Dictionnaire universel des Créatrices}}</ref> She obtained a scholarship for higher studies in the [[United States]], and graduated with an MA at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] in [[African Studies]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moffett |first1=Helen |title=ID Identity: New Short Fiction From Africa |date=15 October 2018 |publisher=New Internationalist |page=280 |isbn=978-1-78026-460-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNxFDwAAQBAJ&dq=Nebila+Abdulmelik+ucla&pg=PA280}}</ref>

Nebila was born in [[Addis Ababa]], Ethiopia the youngest out of three sisters.<ref>{{Cite Web|title=One on One: Nebila Abdulmelik |url=https://www.femnet.org| access-date=2013-12-09}}</ref> Her father died when she was 13. As a young [[Muslim]] woman of [[Harari people|Harari]] origin, she says she suffered from discrimination, which influenced her in becoming an activist.<ref>{{cite web |last1=MARMIER |first1=Anne-Marie |title=Nebila ABDULMELIK |url=https://www.dictionnaire-creatrices.com/fiche-nebila-abdulmelik |website=Le Dictionnaire universel des Créatrices}}</ref> She obtained a scholarship for higher studies in the [[United States]], and graduated with an MA at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] in [[African Studies]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moffett |first1=Helen |title=ID Identity: New Short Fiction From Africa |date=15 October 2018 |publisher=New Internationalist |page=280 |isbn=978-1-78026-460-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNxFDwAAQBAJ&dq=Nebila+Abdulmelik+ucla&pg=PA280}}</ref>

==Education==

[[File:UCLA campus2.jpg|thumb|A Photo of UCLA’s campus]]

Nebila quoted in a recent interview that she was the only girl in her kindergarten class growing up. During first grade through ninth grade is where she got to experience a mix of genders. In tenth and eleventh grade she took part in a bridge system that was located in [[Handcock, Maryland]]. Nebila moved to the U.S from receiving a higher studies and attended a 2 year community college than later transferred into a four year university to finish her bachelors degree in international development studies. Then after her bachelor’s degree she went into her master’s program where she studied African Studies at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]]. She stated that her education serves has a huge pillar in the work that she has done throughout her life.<ref>{{cite interview|title=Career girls Nebila Abdulmelik Writer Photographer|publisher=Career girls|url=https://careergirls.org</ref>

== Career ==

[[File:Nebila Photography.jpg|thumb|Nebila Abdulmelik as a Photographer]]

Nebila pursued her career as an activist advocating for women’s rights. She has travelled to over 40 countries and has worked with several human rights organisations. She worked with [[Pan-African]] women’s rights organisations including [[FEMNET]] as well as the [[African Union]] through the [[African Governance Architecture]] Secretariat.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nebila Abdulmelik {{!}} Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance|url=http://www.mandelaschool.uct.ac.za/abdulmelik|access-date=2021-08-10|website=www.mandelaschool.uct.ac.za|language=en|archive-date=2021-12-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221202507/http://www.mandelaschool.uct.ac.za/abdulmelik|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2013, she launched an online petition titled #JusticeforLiz following the gang rape of Liz ~~a sixteen year old Kenyan girl,~~{{who|date=August 2021}} and the petition garnered more than 2 million signatures demanding death sentence for the rapists.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kenya teen gang rape case sparks outrage, protests|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/1/kenya-teen-gang-rapecasesparksoutrageprotests.html|access-date=2021-08-10|website=america.aljazeera.com}}</ref>

In 2013, she launched an online petition titled #JusticeforLiz following the gang rape of Liz{{who|date=August 2021}} and the petition garnered more than 2 million signatures demanding death sentence for the rapists.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kenya teen gang rape case sparks outrage, protests|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/1/kenya-teen-gang-rapecasesparksoutrageprotests.html|access-date=2021-08-10|website=america.aljazeera.com}}</ref>

In August 2021, she was listed as one of the seven African women activists who deserve a [[Wikipedia]] article by the [[Global Citizen (organization)|Global Citizen]], an international organisation and advocacy organisation.<ref>{{Cite web|title=7 Notable African Women Activists Who Deserve Wikipedia Pages|url=https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/african-women-activists-wikipedia-wikigap/|access-date=2021-08-10|website=Global Citizen|date=9 August 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

== Creative work==

Nebila is a freelance writer and photographer. She founded Afro Trotter Diaries to showcase African women’s travels through story and image.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Young Women Challenging the Status Quo-Ethiopian women to watch in 2019|url=http://awibethiopia.org}}</ref>

== References ==

Ethiopian women’s rights activist and poet

Nebila Abdulmelik

Born	1987 (age 37–38)
Alma mater	African Studies, UCLA
Occupation	women’s rights activist
Known for	her #JusticeforLiz campaign
Spouse	Unmarried
Children	None

Nebila Abdulmelik is an Ethiopian feminist activist. She is known for spearheading the campaign #JusticeforLiz which was launched in order to seek justice for a 16 year old Kenyan girl called Liz who was raped in 2013.^[1] Nebila was manager of media relations at FEMNET, an institution that advocates for women’s growth in Africa.^[2]

Nebila was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the youngest out of three sisters.^[3] Her father died when she was 13. As a young Muslim woman of Harari origin, she says she suffered from discrimination, which influenced her in becoming an activist.^[4] She obtained a scholarship for higher studies in the United States, and graduated with an MA at the University of California, Los Angeles in African Studies.^[5]

In 2013, she launched an online petition titled #JusticeforLiz following the gang rape of Liz^[who?] and the petition garnered more than 2 million signatures demanding death sentence for the rapists.^[7]

In August 2021, she was listed as one of the seven African women activists who deserve a Wikipedia article by the Global Citizen, an international organisation and advocacy organisation.^[8]

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