Fighting for Democracy: Westminster Alumna Shauna Aminath

The small island nation of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean is best known as a vacation destination, but for the native population of 300,000 – comparable in size to the city of St. Louis – the Maldives is so much more.

For Westminster alumna Shauna Aminath, ’08, it’s the place she calls home – and the cause she lives for. As a young political leader in the Maldives, Shauna is working to make her home country a better place, a dangerous struggle that she won’t give up until democracy is in place.

The petite 28-year-old with dark, curly hair and glasses is an unassuming powerhouse, but after meeting her, I doubt she would ever call herself that.

Shauna is the Maldives’ former deputy undersecretary at the President’s Office and currently serves as president of the Youth Wing of the Maldivian Democratic Party.

During her tenure before the takeover, Shauna was instrumental in bringing international attention to global warming and its implications on the survival of the Maldives’ nearly 1,200 islands. She was featured in the documentary The Island President.

As a student, Shauna almost didn’t come to Westminster.

A United World College student, Shauna studied in Canada from 2002 to 2004. During this time, the first spark of civil unrest began in the Maldives. Shauna watched from afar, ready to return home, when her UWC advisor urged her to apply to Westminster.

At Westminster, Shauna found outlets and encouragement for her take-charge, do-something, do-more nature. She designed her own major – Ecology, Economics, and Political Science.

In 2006, Shauna went home from Westminster for the summer. She was 21, filled with passion and desire to be part of what was brewing in the Maldives. The rallies spark with social connection for the young people involved, but Shuna quickly found out how real they were.

Her parents were terrified when she left for the rally. They urged her not to go, but there was not stopping her.

For the full, original story, read Leadership Magazine Summer 2013 online.