LAHORE – Eminent lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jahangir passed awayin Lahore after she suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday, according toPakistan media.
She was 66. “Asma suffered heart attack today morning and she was rushed toHameed Latif Hospital Lahore where she breathed her last. Doctors tried tosave her life but couldn’t,” senior lawyer Adeel Raja said.
Born in Lahore in Janurary 1952, Jahangir dedicated her distinguishedcareer to defending the rights of women, minorities, and children fromreligious extremism, honor killings, and blasphemy laws.
Known for maintaining a resolute stance in the face of extreme pressure andopposition, Jahangir will be remembered as a champion for thedisenfranchised.
The firebrand human rights activist graduated from Kinnaird College andlater pursued an LLB from Punjab University. She was called to the LahoreHigh Court in 1980 and to the Pakistan Supreme Court two years later.
Subsequently, Jahangir went on to become the first woman to serve aspresident of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. Besides servingas Bar Association President, Jahangir also served as the United NationsSpecial Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Execution and asthe United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
In addition, she had investigated government abuses ranging from forceddisapperances to extrajudicial killings.
In the 1980s, Jahangir became a democracy activist and was jailed in 1983for participating in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracyagainst the military regime of Zia-ul-Haq.
Four years later, she co-founded the Human Rights Commision of Pakistan andserved as its Secretary General until 1993 when she was elevated ascommission’s chairperson.
She was also active in the 2007 Lawyers’ Movement, for which she was putunder house arrest. For her relentless struggle for a secular civilsociety, Jahangir was rewarded with several prestigious awards, including aHilal-i-Imtiaz in 2010 and a Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan second and thirdhighest civilian awards, respectively.
She was also awarded a UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Cultureof Human Rights and an Officier de la Légion d’honneur by France. Shereceived the 2014 Right Livelihood Award and the 2010 Freedom Award.
Jahangir authored many articles, scholarly works and two books, “DivineSanction: The Hudood Ordinance (1988, 2003) and “Children of a Lesser God:Child Prisoners of Pakistan” (1992).
She is survived by two daughters and a son. Her daughter Muneezay Jehangiris a TV anchor.