Civil rights activist Hina Jilani has been awarded the Stockholm Human Rights Award (2020), which is bestowed annually by the Swedish Bar Association, the International Bar Association (IBA) and the International Legal Assistance Consortium.

The Stockholm Human Rights Award is given to an individual or organization for outstanding contributions to human rights and the rule of law.

IBA President Horacio Bernardes Neto said, ‘I can think of no more deserving recipient of this award than Hina Jilani. She has dedicated her life to the protection of the vulnerable through her commitment to human rights and the rule of law. She has worked tirelessly and in situations of great adversity to uphold democracy, to challenge injustice and to defend the defenceless. Her ceaseless endeavours have made both Pakistan and the wider world a better, safer and more just place.’

The pioneering lawyer and pro-democracy campaigner founded Pakistan’s first all-female law firm in 1980, providing legal aid to women.

In 1986 Jilani set up Pakistan’s first Legal Aid Centre, the same year Human Rights Commission of Pakistan was established with her as one of its founding members.