LAHORE - Leading lawyer and human rights defender, Asma Jahangir, has posthumously been awarded United Nations Human Rights Prize 2018 and has become the fourth Pakistani having won this prize.
The Pakistanis who won this award in previous decades were Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan in 1978, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2008 and Malala Yousafzai in 2013.
Asma Jahangir was awarded this prize along with human rights activist Rebeca Gyumi from Tanzania and activist for the rights of indigenous communities, Joênia Wapichana Joênia Wapichana from Brazil. This UN prize is given in recognition of outstanding achievements in human rights.
Moniza Jahangir, daughter of Asma Jahangir, told The Nation that it was a historic moment for Pakistan and human rights defenders across the country. “Although it is a challenging time for human rights defenders, the UN award gives immense encouragement, solace and hope to continue the good work in our country,” Moniza said.
She said it will be decided in a few days as to who will receive the UN award in New York on behalf of her late mother.
The human rights community in Pakistan has expressed happiness over the announcement of the award. The announcement also became top trend on Twitter with hashtag#AsmaJahangir. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in a statement, said it is extremely proud to learn that its co-founder Asma Jahangir has been posthumously awarded UN Human Rights Prize. “She served as the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, freedom of religion and belief and on Iran. Her legacy in Pakistan alone is unmatched,” the HRCP stated.
UN General Assembly President Maria Fernanda Espinosa announced in a tweet the names of the winners of the prestigious United Nations prize in the field of human rights.
The award was started in 1968 and this is the 10th prize, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It is noteworthy that previous winners included American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, South African leader Nelson Mandela who ended racial discrimination in his country by establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and former US President Jimmy Carter. Other winners of the award in previous years are American politician Eleanor Roosevelt, Congolese gynaecologist, Denis Mukwege, Amnesty International and the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC).
The award ceremony for the 2018 Prize will be held at UN Headquarters in New York in December 2018.
Asma Jahangir (1952-2018) was Pakistan’s leading human rights activist and lawyer. She defended the rights of women, children, religious minorities and the poor for three decades and won very complicated legal cases.
Asma’s daughter Sulema Jahangir who is also a lawyer said, “We are very proud of our mother.” “For her, human rights were not a job, but a conviction; it was her life,” Sulema said.
“Had she been with us now, she would have been the first to rise for free and fair elections, non-interference of judiciary in politics and against enforced disappearances of journalists and others,” she said. “Asma’s work continues at her firm, AGHS Legal Aid Cell, where a 17-member legal team works for the protection and promotion of equality and rights for all,” Sulema added.
