Leslee Udwin, formerly a filmmaker, is now a human rights campaigner. She won the 2015 Anna Lindh Prize for human rights activism and the 2019 UN Women for Peace Activism in Arts and Education Award. Her awards as a producer and director include a BAFTA and her films include Who Bombed Birmingham? (1990), about the Birmingham Six, who were subsequently released after 17 years of wrongful imprisonment; and India’s Daughter (2015), about the rape and murder of Jyoti Singh. She founded the Think Equal non-profit charity in 2016.
We need to know how to change, not just be reactive to, the horrific abuses of human rights that are ubiquitous in the world.
Leslee Udwin
The Female Lead (Volume II): We Rise By Lifting Others:
Leslee's interview is a part of a wider collection for The Female Lead (Volume 2): We Rise By Lifting Others, a book of 67 women changing the world today.
Buy the book to read Leslee's story as well as the stories of world leaders, artists, activists, engineers, writers, athletes and entrepreneurs. The book is out now and will also be donated to schools and universities. You can nominate your school to receive a copy or support the work of The Female Lead’s educational foundation by buying your own copy
The women profiled in this book have come together to inspire future generations and to honour the women on whose shoulders we stand. The title We rise by lifting others is woven throughout the book; a belief in the need for a collective effort to make positive change. Not just for women, but for everyone.