Zerbanoo Gifford
Encyclopedia
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
campaigner, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and founding director of the ASHA Foundation. Zerbanoo is married to the international human rights lawyer Richard Gifford and lives in England. They have two sons, Mark Mazda and Alexander Justice.
Early life
Zerbanoo was born in India, the eldest daughter of Bailey Irani, the founder President of the World Zoroastrians Organisation, and Kitty Mazda, who studied child development with the educationalist, Madame Montessori. She was brought up in London, where her parents ran a hotel, and attended Roedean SchoolRoedean School
-Roedeanians in fiction:* Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward * Dawn Drummond-Clayton * Emily James...
, near Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
.
Zerbanoo’s charity work began when she was six years old. After seeing children in need in the Indian city of Pune, Zerbanoo returned to London, made flags and sold them to passers-by for a penny each; she raised ten pounds, which she sent to the then Indian Prime Minister Pandit Nehru. The Prime Minister sent Zerbanoo a thank you letter stating that if all little girls in London were like her, there would be fewer poor children in Poona (Pune).Years later, Zerbanoo would be honoured with the Nehru Centenary Award for her work championing the rights of women, children and minorities internationally.
Zerbanoo obtained a degree and trained as a journalist, but knew her vocation lay in philanthropy and in promoting human rights.
Politics
Zerbanoo made political history in 1982 when she was elected in HarrowHarrow, London
Harrow is an area in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, United Kingdom. It is a suburban area and is situated 12.2 miles northwest of Charing Cross...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, as the first non-white woman councillor for the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
. She went on to become the first Asian woman to stand for parliament three times, despite facing racism and threats from the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
. Her experience was the catalyst for the national press, politicians and the police to look at the whole issue of racial violence in Britain. Not being elected to parliament didn’t mean the end of her involvement in politics.The first Asian women were only elected to the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
in 2010, nearly thirty years after Zerbanoo led the way. Zerbanoo is seen as a pioneer for the Asian community in national politics. She chaired the commission ‘Looking into Ethnic Minority Involvement in British Life’ and was a member of the advisory group on race relations to the then British Home Secretary, Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
.
ASHA Foundation
Zerbanoo is the Founding Director of the ASHA Foundation, a charity which encourages and supports philanthropy worldwide and works for interfaith and intercultural understanding. The core of the Foundation’s work is the ASHA Centre in the Forest of DeanForest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
, west Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which promotes peace and understanding amongst diverse groups. The Centre fosters community participation through a holistic programme of performing and visual arts, conservation projects and personal transformation. In an example of its pioneering work, groups of Arab and Jewish Israeli young people spend a month at the Centre and having overcome their initial hostility, work together to create a play which they then take home and perform in Israel, uniting audiences from their deeply divided communities. The experiment has now been expanded to include young people from South Africa, India, Britain and other divided communities worldwide.
Inspirational women
Zerbanoo’s book, Confessions to a Serial Womaniser- Secrets of the World’s Inspirational Women highlights the achievements of three hundred women from sixty countries, all of whom Zerbanoo interviewed. The women have succeeded in all walks of life, including business, government, the arts, science, academia and religion. To accompany the book, Zerbanoo has also launched a website and international mentoring project. The website contains biographies and photographs of the “Inspirational Women” in her book, she is continually expanding the listing. Many of the women in the book are involved in the web project, acting as mentors, and as everything is done on-line, distance is no object. Zerbanoo has already successfully matched up young women from all over the world with their chosen mentors. She’s now developing the mentoring project into a multi-media resource for schools and universities.A member of the Race Relations Forum and an advisor to the former British Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Zerbanoo has chaired the Commission "Looking into Ethnic Minority Involvement into British Life."
Charitable work
The patron of several international charities, Zerbanoo founded the ASHA Foundation and Centre and also helped set up the Charities Aid FoundationCharities Aid Foundation
The Charities Aid Foundation is a registered UK charity. Its Head Office is located in the King's Hill business park, West Malling, Kent with a second office in London on St Andrew Street, EC4A 3AY...
in India. She has been the Director of Anti-Slavery International
Anti-Slavery International
Anti-Slavery International is an international nongovernmental organization, charity and a lobby group, based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1839, it is the world's oldest international human rights organization, and the only charity in the United Kingdom to work exclusively against slavery and...
and London Organiser for the homeless charity Shelter
Shelter (charity)
Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the...
. She also set up the first Shelter shops in London when she was still a teenager.
- Founder of the ASHA Foundation
- Director of Anti-Slavery InternationalAnti-Slavery InternationalAnti-Slavery International is an international nongovernmental organization, charity and a lobby group, based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1839, it is the world's oldest international human rights organization, and the only charity in the United Kingdom to work exclusively against slavery and...
- Director of Charities Aid FoundationCharities Aid FoundationThe Charities Aid Foundation is a registered UK charity. Its Head Office is located in the King's Hill business park, West Malling, Kent with a second office in London on St Andrew Street, EC4A 3AY...
(India) - London organiser for ShelterShelter (charity)Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the...
- Patron of United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Year of Peace - Patron of Asian Friends of the RSPCA
- Patron of United Religions Initiative
- Patron of Minorities of Europe
- Patron of Mummy’s House for Mumbai Street Children
- Advisory Board member of Public Concern at Work
- Friend of the Day Care Trust
- Council Member of the Voluntary Arts Network
- Board Member of the Independent Broadcasting Trust
- Co-founder of Warwick University Centre for Research Into Asian Migration
- Co-chair of the Dadabhai Naoroji centenary celebrations
- Vice-chair of the Community Sector of the Prince’s Youth Business Trust
- President of the Harrow Zoroastrian Association
Publications
Zerbanoo has been editor of the women’s magazine, Libas International, and written widely on historical, social and political themes, with all proceeds of her books going to nominated charities. Her written works include:- The Golden Thread, Asian experiences of post-Raj Britain – pioneering work drawing attention to the achievements of over one hundred British Asian women
- The Asian Presence in Europe – used in schools as a book on Asians who have helped to transform the way we live in Europe
- Dadabhai Naoroji, Britain's First Asian MP – to complement the Dadabhai Naoroji Centenary celebrations in 1992, which Zerbanoo co-chaired
- Thomas Clarkson and the Campaign Against the Slave trade –used in events marking the bi-centenary in 2007 of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in the British EmpireBritish EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
- Foreword to Race and British Electoral Politics
- South Asian Funding in the UK – written to be used by the charitable sector
- Celebrating India – widely used in schools on 50th anniversary of Indian independence and to complement a Channel Four schools programme
- Confessions to a Serial Womaniser: Secrets of the World’s Inspirational Women – featuring interviews with 300 exceptional women from sixty countries. The book, website and international mentoring project are the result of Zerbanoo’s being awarded a NESTA (National Endowment of Science, Technology and Arts) Fellowship. The website mentoring project is now being developed into a multi-media resource for schools and universities.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica - An article written on Child Slavery
- Power and Privilege - By Mini Sala - Forward written by
Publications you can find Zerbanoo in
- Debrett's, American Biographical Institute, World's Who's Who of Women, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge
- The World's Who's Who of Women
- Men and Women of Distinction
- Eminent Parsis - 1964 – 2005
- Zoroastrians in Britain
Marriage and children
Zerbanoo is married to the international human rights lawyer Richard Gifford and lives in England with their sons Mark Mazda and Alexander Justice.Awards
Zerbanoo has received many international accolades for her work, including:- Freedom of the cityFreedom of the CityFreedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of Lincoln, NebraskaLincoln, NebraskaThe City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, in recognition of her work against modern forms of slavery - Asian Times Award, for achievement and service
- Asian City Club Award, for services to the media
- Nehru Centenary Award for championing the rights of women, children and minorities internationally
- International Woman of the Year 2006, awarded by Zee TVZee TVZee TV is an India-based satellite television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which broadcasts various programmes in Hindi and other regional languages of India. Broadcasting is also present in various nations of South Asia, Europe, the Middle East,...
- Splendor Award for human rights achievement on 60th anniversary of Indian independence
- American Suffrage Exhibition - for championing the rights of women, children and minorities internationally