Asma Jahangir

Asma Jahangir is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan is Chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) which was set up in 1986. She was also co-chair of South Asians for Human Rights.

Asma was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary or summary executions and later as the United Nations Rapporteur of Freedom of religion or belief.

Asma Jahangir is Pakistan's leading human rights activist. She was put under house arrest and later imprisoned in 1983 for participating in the movement for the restoration of political and fundamental rights during the military regime. She was again put under house arrest in November 2007 after the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan.

Asma has represented several clients who were denied their fundamental rights, notably brick kiln workers. She was also successful in getting parliament to pass legislation in favour of bonded workers. She has defended cases of minorities, women and children in prisons. In her effort to secure justice for the disadvantaged, she has been frequently threatened by militant groups. Asma and her family also faced death threats from militants in 1995.

She has authored two books: Divine Sanction? The Hadood Ordinance (1988) and Children of a Lesser God: Child Prisoners of Pakistan (1992).

Asma is recipient of several national awards, including Sitara-I-Imtiaz in 1995. In recognition of her services in the field of human rights, she was awarded the American Bar Association International Human Rights Award in 1992, the Martin Ennals Award and the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1995.