Imrana Jalal. [Source: International Commission of Jurists]

The Minister for Women, Lynda Tabuya has congratulated former Fiji lawyer and human rights activist Imrana Jalal for being awarded the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honor by the World Jurists Association.

She says awardees of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honor are for eminent women who have broken glass ceilings and have paved the path for other women and girls to follow in their footsteps and become future leaders.

Tabuya states Jalal stands tall amongst these women as she has worked tirelessly towards the realization of gender equality and women’s empowerment, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Minister adds that Jalal is an aspiration not just for women lawyers but for all Fijian women and girls.

Tabuya has applauded her passion for women’s empowerment and has also acknowledged Jalal for breaking many ceilings for women around the world.

Her tireless efforts in engaging people as well as in her leadership roles to ‘defend and strengthen the rule of law and to consolidate society’s advances in gender equity’ serves as a model for champions of gender equality in Fiji.

Jalal was also the architect of ground-breaking legislation, the Family Law Act in 2003.

She wrote the first full-length reference book on women’s legal rights in the South Pacific – Law for Pacific Women: A Legal Rights Handbook.

Jalal is a Commissioner on the prestigious Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists, a body of sixty eminent judges and lawyers, and was for many years on the board of Greenpeace International.

The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honor, established by the World Jurist Association, is an international recognition. The World Jurist Association awards the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honor in recognition of inspiring women jurists who fight to defend and strengthen the rule of law and consolidate society’s advances in gender equity.