Eva Abdulla, Chairperson of The Maldives Policy Think Tank, is the former Deputy Speaker of the Maldives, and was a three- term elected member of the Parliament of Maldives
Eva’s main work in Parliament concentrated on anti-torture, anti- corruption, foreign policy, state budget, women’s rights and good governance. She served on the Parliamentary Standing Committees for Oversight of the National Security Services, the Parliamentary Committee for State Budget Review, and the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Affairs.
Eva was the elected representative from Asia-Pacific region for the IPU Committee on Women Parliamentarians from 2010 to 2013; the elected member from Asia Pacific region for the IPU High-Level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism from and since 2021- 2024, the elected representative for the Asia Region at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Small Branches Steering Committee.
Eva was a leading woman at the forefront of the Maldives’ democratization movement, and has been a leading anti- corruption, democracy and human rights advocate in the country. She served on her party’s Foreign Relations Committee for 18 years and worked directly with international stakeholders and the diplomatic community on a daily basis. Eva continues to work closely with former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed on policy formulation, strategy and communications.
Eva previously worked at the WHO, the UNFPA, and was the Manager for the first registered independent daily newspaper in the country, the ‘Minivan Daily. She holds a BA in Politics and Government, from the University of Kent, UK, and a MA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Warwick, UK.
Commentaries
Maldives Adrift: Political Short-Termism and Economic Peril in the Indian Ocean