Hauwa Ibrahim

Nigerian human rights lawyer Hauwa Ibrahim was born in 1968 in Gombe, Nigeria. She has defended over 150 cases involving women sentenced to death by stoning and children sentenced to amputation of limbs under Shariah law. In 2005, she was awarded the European Parliament Sakharov Prize for freedom of thoughts.

Prior to launching her legal practice in 1996, she was a prosecutor in the Ministry of Justice in Bauchi State. Ibrahim has taught at Harvard University, University of Rome, and over a dozen universities around the world. She is the founder of the project, Mothers Without Borders which focuses on diverting youth from extremism.

While a Radcliffe fellow, Ibrahim adopted an interdisciplinary approach to delve into the theoretical foundations of Shariah law and examine how they have influenced legal practice, which has, in turn, affected the human rights of women in West Africa. Her research led to the book Practicing Shariah Law: Seven Strategies for Achieving Justice in Shariah Courts, published in January 2013.

Ibrahim is currently serving as President of The Peace Institute.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Selected publications

on Nigerian women legal practitioners

Honey from the rock : the biography of Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi / Olugbenga Owa. - Nigeria : Zumabel Books, [2018]

Gender and the judiciary in Africa : from obscurity to parity? / Gretchen Bauer; Josephine Dawuni. - New York ; London : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, [2016]

Her ladyship Chief Justice: the rise of female leaders in the judiciary in Africa / Josephine Dawuni; Alice Kang.
In: Africa today , vol. 62, no. 2, p. 45-69 : graf., tab, 2015

on Shariah law in Nigeria

Sharīʿa in Africa today : reactions and responses / John Chesworth; Franz Kogelmann. - Leiden : Brill, 2014

Muslim women reformers in Africa: the Nigeria case / Omobolaji Ololade Olarinmoye.
In: Afrika Zamani : revue annuelle d'histoire africaine , no. 18/19, p. 133-150, 2010/11

Comparative perspectives on shari'ah in Nigeria / Philip Ostien; Jamila M. Nasir; Franz Kogelmann. / Ibadan [etc.] : Spectrum Books, 2005

Sharia penal and family laws in Nigeria and in the Muslim world : rights based approach / Jibrin Ibrahim. - Nigeria : Global Rights, 2004

Shari'a implementation in Nigeria : issues & challenges on women's rights and access to justice / Joy Ngozi Ezeilo; Muhammed Tawfiq Ladan; Abiola Afolabi-Akiyode. - Enugu [etc.] : Women's Aid Collective [etc.], cop. 2003

Hauwa Ibrahim: Mothers Without Borders: Steering Youth Away from Violent Extremism, 2018

Timeline of Nigerian women lawyers via Wikidata and DBpedia