On Wednesday, Pakistan’s first Women in Law Awards 2020-2021 and symposium on diversity and inclusion took place in Islamabad.
The organization was established in 2016 and is a leading pioneer working towards equal opportunity and networking of female lawyers in Pakistan. Women in Law have over the years worked to call attention to and mainstream gender quality in the legal profession through various initiatives.
The Women in Law Awards took place because of the support of the Federal Ministry of Law and Justice with assistance from the Australian High Commission and British High Commission and Group Development Pakistan’s (GDP). It was curated by the Women in Law Initiative in Pakistan.
The awards show featured 71 nominees in 18 categories. The list of complete winners are listed below:
Advocate of the Year:
Asma Hamid
Rising Star of the Year:
Barrister Jugnoo Kazmi
Gender Project/Initiative of the Year:
Banning Two-Finger Test Petition Axis Law Chambers
Most inclusive law firm:
Axis Law Chambers
Best Gender and Diversity Rights Advocacy:
Blueveins
Best Prosecutor:
Alvina Shah
Best ADR Lawyer:
Dr. Nudrat Piracha
Pro bono Contributor of the Year:
Barrister Jannat Ali Kalyar
Mentor of the Year:
Shabnam Ishaque
Academic of the Year:
Abira Ashfaq
Unsung Achiever of the Year:
Noor ul sabah
Outstanding Comeback of the Year:
Maliha Zia Lari
Transactional Lawyer of the Year:
Amina Ahmed
Sole Practitioner of the Year:
Barrister Shayyan Qaiser
In-House Legal Counsel:
Fatima Gohar & Mehvish Muneera (TIE)
Gender and Diversity Champions:
Maliha Zia Lari, Rubina Naz, Maria Farooq, Sabira Islam
Legal Department of the Year:
Novo Nordisk Pharma
Law Student of the Year:
Maha Hussain
The founder of Women in Law initiative Pakistan and curator of the event, Nida Usman Chaudhary, said on the occasion, “To see female lawyers being given their due recognition and visibility at the national level has truly been a dream for which we at Women in Law have worked for all these years.”
She mentioned all those who, without their support, this wouldn’t have been possible, “This would never have been possible without the leading support of Hon’able Federal Law Minister Dr. Muhammad Farogh Nasim and Parliamentary Secretary, Federal Ministry of Law and Justice, Barrister Maleeka Bukhari.”
The organizers faced many challenges. However, they were determined, “In spite of the challenges that came our way, support from the Federal Ministry, our sponsors, the Australian High Commission, the British High Commission, and implementing partner, Group Development Pakistan, has been unflinching for which I am very grateful. We are very happy that all our hard work is now coming together for everyone to see.”
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