LAHORE – The nation paid rich tributes to human rights activist Asma Jehangir for her heroic struggle on her second death anniversary on Tuesday (today).
Asma was a Pakistani human rights lawyer and social activist who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
She spent her career defending the human and women’s rights, rights of religious minorities and children in Pakistan.
Born and raised in Lahore, Jahangir studied at the Convent of Jesus and Mary before receiving her B.A. from Kinnaird and LLB from the Punjab University in 1978.
Jehangir also served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions from 1998 to 2004, and as the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief from 2004 to 2010.
She received several awards, including a Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2010 and a Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
She also received the 2014 Right Livelihood Award and the 2010 Freedom Award from the International Rescue Committee, reported the media officials.
Jahangir was known for her outspoken nature and unrelenting pursuit for human rights as well as for remaining undaunted in the face of extreme pressure and opposition.
The late lawyer was posthumously awarded the top United Nations human rights prize, which received by her daughter, Munizae, at an impressive ceremony in the General Assembly hall.
The eminent lawyer had breathed her last on February 11, 2018, in Lahore at the age of 66 due to cardiac arrest.
