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Hina Jilani ( ur, حنا جیلانی ؛ born 19 December 1953) is an
advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
of the
Supreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...
and a
human-rights activist from
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
in
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
. She is the founder of Pakistan’s first all-women law firm, Pakistan’s first legal aid center and the Women’s Action Forum – an organization focused on campaigning for women’s rights and addressing Pakistan’s discriminatory laws.
Early life and education
Born and raised in Pakistan started practicing law in 1979, while
Pakistan was under martial law.
Career
Jilani is internationally recognised for her expertise in critical human rights investigations. In February 1980, with her sister
Asma Jahangir
Asma Jilani Jahangir ( ur, , ''ʿĀṣimah Jahāṉgīr''; 27 January 1952 – 11 February 2018) was a Pakistani human rights lawyer and social activist who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Jahangir was known ...
, she co-founded Pakistan's first all-female legal aid practice, AGHS Legal Aid Cell (ALAC) in Lahore. Initially the activities were confined to providing legal aid to women, but gradually these activities increased to including legal awareness, education, protection from exploitation, legal research, counselling and providing legal assistance as well. She is also one of the founders of the
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ) (HRCP) is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country.
HRCP is committed to monitoring, protecting a ...
and the
Women’s Action Forum (WAF) (a pressure group established in 1980 campaigning against
discriminatory legislation) and also founded Pakistan's first legal aid center in 1986. In addition to providing pro bona legal aid, she has also helped set up a shelter for women fleeing violence and abuse, called ''Dastak'' in 1991. In addition to managing a shelter, Dastak also organises workshops to create awareness of human rights and the protection of women.
A lawyer and civil society activist and active in the movement for peace, human rights and women's rights in Pakistan for the last three decades, she specialises in human rights litigation, and is especially concerned with the human rights of women, children, minorities, bonded and child labour, political and other prisoners. She has conducted several cases which have become landmarks in setting human rights standards in Pakistan. Her battle for the rights of children, especially the protection of child labourers engaged in hazardous work, led to the promulgation an act regulating the employment of children in 1991.
Jilani is often invited to speak at various events pertaining to human rights. On 17 September 2009, she delivered the 2009
Hal Wootten
John Halden Wootten QC (19 December 1922 – 27 July 2021) was an Australian lawyer and legal academic and the founder of the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law, of which he was the Foundation Chair and its inaugural Dean. Wootten se ...
Lecture, at the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales. On 25 November, she was invited as guest lecturer at
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
's Faculty of Law, the McGill Centre for Human Rights & Legal Pluralism, on the topic of "''The Promise of International Law for Civilian Victims of War: The Goldstone Report''". On 27 November 2009 Jilani was invited as a speaker at the
Halifax International Security Forum
Halifax International Security Forum (also Halifax Forum or HFX) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a forum and network for international government and military officials, academic expert ...
in Canada on "''Law vs. Power: Who Rules? Who Makes the Rules?''".
Jilani is also affiliated with the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Carter Center, and the UN Conference on Women. In 2019, The UK foreign office appointed the lawyer to a new panel of experts to develop legal frameworks to protect freedom of the media across the globe.
Other activities
Roles at the United Nations
From 2000 to 2008, Jilani was the United Nations
Special Representative of the Secretary-General A Special Representative of the Secretary-General is a highly respected expert who has been appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to represent them in meetings with heads of state on critical human rights issues. The representativ ...
on
Human Rights Defenders
A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...
. During that period, she was also appointed to the
International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, Sudan, in 2006.
In 2009, Jilani was appointed to the
United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, also known as the Goldstone Report, was a United Nations fact-finding mission established in April 2009 pursuant to Resolution A/HRC/RES/S-9/1 of the United Nations Human Rights Coun ...
.
In 2017, Jilani co-chaired (alongside
Tarja Halonen
Tarja Kaarina Halonen (; born 24 December 1943) is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisati ...
) the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
/
High-Level Working Group on the Health and Human Rights of Women, Children and Adolescents.
Non-profit organizations
On 11 July 2013, Jilani joined
The Elders, a group of statesmen, peace activists and human rights advocates, brought together by
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
.
In addition, Jilani holds the following positions:
World Organisation Against Torture- OMCT, President (since 2016).
*
Aurora Prize
The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is an annual international humanitarian award recognizing individuals for humanitarian work. It is awarded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian genocide.
The Aurora Prize ceremonies have taken place ...
, Member of the Selection Committee (since 2015)
* Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-terrorism and Human Rights, Member
* Global Women’s Leadership Project,
University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...
, Global Advisor
International Service for Human Rights Member of the Board (since 2013)
*
Front Line Defenders
Front Line Defenders, or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in 2001 to protect those who work non-violently to uph ...
, Member of the International Advisory Council
*
Media Legal Defence Initiative, Patron
* World Refugee & Migration Council (WRMC), Co-Chair
*
Nuremberg International Human Rights Award, Member of the Jury (2012–2020)
Threats
As a result, their work in the field of women's activism, Jilani and Jahangir have been arrested, received death threats, and faced hostile propaganda, intimidation, public abuse and murder attempts on themselves and their family. In 1999 after representing the case of
Samia Sarwar
Samia Sarwar (1970 – 6 April 1999) was a Pakistani woman, who was shot dead in her lawyers' office in Lahore in an "honour killing."
Samia Sarwar was a married woman with two children, belonging to an affluent family of Peshawar. She claimed to ...
, a young woman who was seeking divorce from her abusive husband, Jilani and Jahangir were again subject to death threats. Samia's mother came with a gunman to her office on the pretext of seeking reconciliation with her daughter. The gunman shot Samia dead and fired at Hina who managed to escape. Another time, gunmen entered her house and threatened members of her family. She herself was away from home: the threats put pressure on her to migrate, but she refused, and continues to live and work in Lahore.
Views
"''The problem with the cases of honour killings and their non-prosecution lies in the permission that the law grants to the family of the victim to compromise the offence, and that's why the person who actually pulls the trigger walks free... although in the case of honour killing it's mostly a conspiracy between more than one member of the family, and that's the major issue here. I don't think the government wishes to address that issue.''"
"''I always had this feeling that if you see injustice, you have to speak out against it; otherwise you are not in a position to complain.''"
"''It was anger against state-sponsored injustice that forced me to enter courtrooms in the 1970s.
..For all these years I have retained that outrage so I have been able to fight for human rights and against bonded labour, blasphemy laws...''" (Monday, 15 March 1999, in ''Tribune India'')
"''The right to life of women in Pakistan is conditional on their obeying social norms and traditions.''"
"''There is a real danger of this occurring. The military have an agenda of supporting the extremists and are ideologically very akin to the extremists. It is very important that the world understand how important it is to act in a wise way.''"
"''The United States totally misread the situation. If Musharraf had been successfully countering terrorism, we would not have a situation eight years down the road where (terrorists) actually control territory. Nobody has tried to find the source of the money or the source of the weapons.''"
"''When you put them on trial, you show the wickedness of their crime. Once it becomes abundantly clear that the terrorists' victims are almost entirely Pakistani civilians, only then will sympathy for their cause be lost. We have to deal with terrorism as a criminal element.''"
"''The civilian government must be supported thoroughly, otherwise we will lose it.''"
"''The administration of justice can be severely hampered if laws emerge from different understandings or perceptions of religion, and their application becomes uneven because of the religious, moral and social beliefs of those administering these laws. Islam and almost all other religions of the world have sectarian and denominational differences. If a national polity is founded on religion, these differences will be manifested in political tensions as well as oppressive restraints on dissent.''"
Recognition
* 2000 –
Ginetta Sagan Award of
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
* 2001 –
Millennium Peace Prize for Women
In 2001, as part of International Alert's ''Women Building Peace'' campaign, the United Nations Development Fund for Women awarded a Millennium Peace Prize for Women. The bronze prize was commissioned from American figurative sculptor Tim Holmes, ...
* 2008 – Editor's Award for Outstanding Achievement by The Lawyer Awards
*2016 –
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
awarded her with an honorary doctorate
See also
*
National Women's Day (Pakistan)
References
External links
Hina Jilani profileHuman Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights DefendersBiographyPakistan's January polls already rigged: UN rights envoyby Michelle Stephenson October 1999
2 May 2000
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH): Interview with Hina Jilani 14 November 2007
June 2008
''Law Report'', 8 April 2008
Interview with Hina Jilani: Leading rightsby Tom Phillips
Asia Society: Interview with Hina Jilaniby Nermeen Shaikh, 17 August 2008
WLUML: Pakistan: Interview with International Jurist Hina Jilani By Beena Sarwar 16 February 2009
16 September 2009
Hina Jilani Law vs. Power: Who Rules? Who Makes the Rules? (video)27 November 2009
27 December 2009
Articles
Neither Peace Nor Justice By Hina Jilani for Newsline2 March 2009
Shame on Who? By Hina Jilani for Newsline7 October 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jilani, Hina
1953 births
Convent of Jesus and Mary, Lahore alumni
Lawyers from Lahore
Living people
Pakistani democracy activists
Pakistani human rights activists
Pakistani lawyers
Pakistani women lawyers
Pakistani women's rights activists
United Nations special rapporteurs
Pakistani women diplomats
Pakistani diplomats
Pakistani officials of the United Nations
Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations