Sakharov Network

One of the 2005 Sakharov Prize winners was Hauwa Ibrahim, a 37 year-old human rights lawyer from Abuja, Nigeria, and a mother of two sons. She was born in a small, poor village, the daughter of a Mullah. A career as a lawyer was not supposed to figure in her destiny. At the age of 12 she was supposed to get married and her studies ought to have ended at primary school, but she refused this destiny.

As one of only a few women lawyers practising in northern Nigeria, her work took her into the rural hinterland, where she had to travel by camel or donkey to get to the villages. She describes this time as among the best of her life, because she was able to relate to the grass roots that she came from.

She is acutely aware of importance of education on the empowerment of women and as a defence for those facing the greatest deprivation. Poverty and illiteracy go hand in hand – and fundamentalism feeds on ignorance. Hauwa Ibrahim, who was brought up as a Muslim herself, works tirelessly to fight for religious fundamentalism.

Hauwa Ibrahim has built up what can only be described as an extraordinary practice: defending people who are condemned under Islamic Sharia law which is applied in 12 northern states of Nigeria. Death sentences, although not carried out for the moment, continue to be handed down. Since 1999, Hauwa Ibrahim has worked free-of-charge as defence counsel in 47 cases, many of which have involved women accused of adultery and subjected to death by stoning. It was her ability to arouse international public opinion that made it possible to save the lives of Amina Lawa, Safiya Hussaini and Hafsatu Abukabar. She was equally heavily involved in other cases of cruel and inhuman punishment, such as women sentenced to flogging or young boys sentenced to amputation for theft.

Hauwa Ibrahim has become an iconic figure, but her charisma makes some uncomfortable. She is banned from pleading in Islamic courts. “I do not comment on the Koran”, she said . ‘My only objective is to have the fundamental rights of each and every human being respected, like the rule of law and the right to a fair trial’.

Hauwa argued successfully that Sharia law requires the Sharia courts to respect the procedural and substantive rights guaranteed by Sharia law as well as the Nigerian Constitution and that the international human rights treaties to which Nigeria is signatory are observed.

Today, Hauwa’s cause resonates beyond Nigeria’s borders. But for her the most difficult task is yet to be achieved, that of making her voice heard in her own country.