Pakistani lawyer Jalila Haider honoured with Swedish Right Livelihood prize

Pakistani human rights lawyer Jalila Haider has received Sweden's Right Livelihood award, sometimes called an "alternative Nobel." According to Dawn, the foundation honoured her for breaking barriers as the first female lawyer from the Hazara community to challenge ethnic, state and patriarchal persecution.

The Right Livelihood Foundation noted her work includes leading a seven-day hunger strike in 2018 against the targeted killing of Hazaras. This action led to direct negotiations between the army chief and Hazara women, which the foundation says resulted in a sustained decrease in attacks against the community.

Her legal and street activism has secured justice for thousands from ethnic, gender, and religious minorities and refugees, the foundation reported. Her law firm has also helped restore freedom of movement for over 600 political activists and human rights defenders.

Haider is a founding member of the Women’s Democratic Front and helped pioneer Balochistan’s first Women's Protection Center, according to the foundation's citation.