Tabuya congratulates Imrana Jalal for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honor

The Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Lynda Tabuya has congratulated Imrana Jalal for being awarded the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honor by the World Jurists Association.

Tabuya says Jalal is a lawyer by profession and was the Commissioner of the Fiji Human Rights Commission and Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva.

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

She adds that a hard-working Jalal has worked tirelessly towards the realization of gender equality, and women’s empowerment and contributed to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Peace and Security.

Tabuya says they applaud Jalal's passion for women’s empowerment and thank her for breaking many ceilings for women around the world.

She says 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.

Tabuya says she has had the great fortune to work under Jalal’s supervision on the consultation process of the Family Law Act 2005 and adds she is firm but fair, extremely knowledgeable but kind, and never missed taking a teaching moment.

The Minister says Jalal is an inspiration not just to women lawyers but for all Fijian women and girls.

A lawyer by profession, Jalal was a Commissioner with the Fiji Human Rights Commission.

She is the author of the Law for Pacific Women, architect of the Family Law Act 2005, and former Chair of the UN Committee on Harmful Practices Against Women, and continues to be a member of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, Women Living Under Muslim Law, and the Asia-Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development.

Jalal is also a Commissioner on the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva.