Shaheen Sardar Ali is a British Pakistani law professor and an
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
who formerly served chair of the
National Commission on the Status of Women
National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani statutory body established by the President Pervez Musharraf, under the XXVI Ordinance dated 17 July 2000. It is an outcome of the national and international commitments of the G ...
of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. She is a professor of law at the
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...
.
Biography
Shaheen, a
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
, was born in
Swat
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
in 1955 in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and obtained her BA, LLB and an MA in Political Science from the
University of Peshawar
The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a Public university, public research university located in Peshawar, Khy ...
. A Foreign and Commonwealth Scholarship allowed her to come to the UK in 1990 to take an LLM in international law at
Hull University
, mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status
, type = Public
, endowment = £18.8 million (2016)
, budget = £190 million ...
. She returned to Pakistan and gained a professorship at
Peshawar University
The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a Public university, public research university located in Peshawar, Khy ...
in 1995. Three years later, she returned to the United Kingdom, teaching as a law lecturer at the
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...
. Her research and teaching interests include international law of human rights, women's and children's rights and Islamic law and jurisprudence.
Ali is fluent in
Pashtu
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and has a working knowledge of
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
. Furthermore, she serves as a consultant for
the British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...
,
the World Bank
The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Grou ...
,
UNIFEM
The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, french: Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme, ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International ...
, ILO,
NORAD
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...
and
Radda Barnen Radda may refer to:
* Radha Cuadrado
Radha Cuadrado (born December 13, 1976), popularly known as RADHA, is a Filipino singer and songwriter best known as an original member of the Filipino-Canadian hip hop group Kulay (previously known as Boo ...
and is a member of the British Council Task Force on
Gender and Development Gender and development is an interdisciplinary field of research and applied study that implements a Feminism, feminist approach to understanding and addressing the disparate impact that economic development and globalization have on people based up ...
. Ali often contributes to radio and television programmes and appears as commentator on current affairs and debates.
She was previously a member and vice-chair of the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...
* ''Gender and Human Rights in Islam and International Law: Equal Before Allah, Unequal Before Man?'' (2000)
* ''Development Processes: Some experiences from the North West Frontier of Pakistan'' (2002)
*''Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities of Pakistan: Constitutional and Legal Perspectives'' (2013)