Bio
Asma Jahangir is the elected President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan in 2011 and was twice elected as Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Asma is also a Director of the AGHS Legal Aid Cell, which provides free legal assistance to the needy and was instrumental in the formation of the Punjab Women Lawyers Association in 1980 and the Women Action Forum in 1985.
She was placed under house arrest and later imprisoned for participating in the movement to restore political and fundamental rights under the military regime in 1983.
She has authored two books and five papers. She has received honorary Doctor of Law degrees from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, Queen’s University, Canada and Amherst College, USA. She has been the recipient of a number of international and national awards, among them the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1995.
In 1998, Asma was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or arbitrary execution of the Commission on Human Rights and in 2004 she was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief of the Council of Human Rights.
She served as a leading figure in the campaign waged by the women activists against the promulgation of the controversial Hadood Ordinance and draft law on evidence. Moreover, she has defended cases of discrimination against religious minorities, women and children.