Meet Our National Law Scholar: Saadia Farooq Of Kinnaird College For Women University, Lahore
“Growing up in Pakistan one witnesses incidents of injustice, discrimination and horrendous crimes. Unfortunately I have seen people commit crimes, undermine the legal system and oppress the weak and the helpless, mostly women. Many people choose to turn a blind eye towards these incidents but I am unable to accept these occurrences as justified under the rule of law and I opted to become an active part of our legal fraternity to bring a positive change legally as well as socially.
My name is Saadia Farooq and I want to be a lawyer because I decided a long time ago that I had to reach a point in my life where I would become so powerful and secure that I could help those who needed representation to fight for their rights. I aspire to make a change and I believe that no positive change is insignificant. Every single good thing that one manages to achieve pushes the world to a better future and this is what I intend to do.
As part of my legal training in Kinnaird College for Women, University I have been involved in a number of co-curricular activities including debates and mock trials. I have had the honor of winning the two mock trials I’ve been a part of and a number of debates as well. I have been in the habit of writing journal entries on legal issues and concepts; I’ve also written certain case analysis as part of my courses. I would say that at this point my biggest strength is that I am good at putting down in clear words my opinions and convince others as well. I plan on perfecting this very quality because I know that law is a profession where a simple play on words can make or break a case.
I’ve also had the privilege of working as an intern with the editorial team at Courting The Law and I was highly impressed with what they were trying to achieve i.e. raising awareness among the people about the law and their legal rights. My time there made me more determined than ever to pursue this field because I saw that here I would have an infinite room for growth.
I am also currently leading my team of 9 members to work and achieve the goal of initiating a social action project backed by the British Council. In the future I wish to pursue a career in corporate law because I feel that corporate lawyers make up an elite group in the legal practice; they have contacts everywhere and their approach goes miles beyond one’s expectations. They meet and represent people from various walks of life and here I see abundant opportunities for myself.
The fact that I was chosen to be a part of this National Legal Scholars program and the fact that I have received this opportunity being a woman living in a society where women are unfortunately not a recipient of such chances is a huge deal for me and I plan on making the best of it. I take this as a golden chance to further enhance my advocacy skills, mould my personality and learn more about the profession I’ve chosen and all the other ways I might become an asset to the society as a whole.”
