Alumni

Mashal Aamir

African Court of Human and Peoples Rights, Oxford Human Rights Fellow  

LLB 2017

A graduate of the University of Glasgow School of Law, Mashal Aamir is a barrister working in human rights and criminal justice, challenging grave human rights violations around the world and seeking accountability, particularly for marginalised communities. 

Mashal sought to use her education in service of those most in need, thus she moved to Korea to work directly with North Korean defectors. She spent years supporting them and bringing their experiences before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, including accompanying the first disabled North Korean defector to testify before the UN. 

At the International Criminal Court (ICC), she worked on the Ongwen case which resulted in the first conviction for forced pregnancy by an international court. She recently wrote for a Cambridge University Press book on the ICC, with her chapter on Afghanistan highlighting the experiences of women, children and gender-based violence. 

Mashal spent two years researching inside prison in Peshawar, near Afghanistan, documenting the experiences of transgender prisoners as well as women imprisoned with their children. This research formed a book chapter published by Routledge and she held a photography exhibition at Cambridge University to share these findings in an accessible way.  

In 2020, Mashal also established a charity in rural Pakistan to empower women by teaching them vocational skills such as sewing, enabling them to earn safely from home. It has since expanded to include a learning space for children. She later clerked at the Supreme Court of Pakistan. 

Her work has involved supporting defence counsel for a Guantánamo Bay detainee subjected to torture and held without trial. In London she worked on behalf of British women and children detained in north-east Syrian camps, including cases involving trafficking and deprivation of British citizenship.  

Mashal currently works at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Tanzania, where her work includes the right to a fair trial, climate change proceedings and the interpretation of gender-based rights in Africa.  

Mashal’s contribution to human rights has been recognised internationally through the International Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, the Diana Award and the Young Scot International Award. She was awarded a Bonavero Human Rights Fellowship from Oxford University and Gray’s Inn Churchill Scholarship.  

Her work is driven by a desire to advocate for those most in need and ensure their voices are heard. 

Social Media 

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/mashal-aamir

Twitter: https://x.com/MashalAamir1?lang=en  

Weblinks

International Bar Association Press Release: https://www.ibanet.org/Mashal-Aamir-of-Pakistan-wins-2024-IBA-Outstanding-Young-Lawyer-Award  

Scottish Legal News, Diana Award:https://www.scottishlegal.com/articles/glasgow-law-graduate-mashal-aamir-receives-diana-award  

Oxford Law Announcement:https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/content/news/mashal-aamir-wins-international-bar-association-outstanding-young-lawyer-award