Dr Serena Natile

Serena has been researching, writing and protesting against gender inequalities for some time. Her research focuses on issues relating to coloniality, social reproduction and global maldistribution of wealth and power, and the role of the law in constructing, reinforcing or challenging these gendered and racialised dynamics. She recently had the opportunity to coordinate the Feminist Recovery Plan project and learn about grassroots struggles from a plurality of feminist organisations. "International Women's Day is an occasion to thank and celebrate the women who inspire and make possible my feminist work, from feminist writers and activists who have provided healing and motivation when needed, to colleagues and students at Warwick whose intellectual generosity, visible and invisible work and feminist bravery make Warwick Law School a space of critique, hope and possibility."

Lyla Latif

Lyla Latif, the only female Muslim legislative draftsperson who together with Ambrose Rachier drafted the first set of land legislation for the Republic of Kenya to replace the colonial land laws. She was elected as the legal adviser to two political parties in Kenya to draft their manifestos and suggest tax reforms that would facilitate an inclusive and sustainable redistribution policy for the state. Lyla has trained over 400 African Members of Parliament, revenue authorities, civil societies, and journalists on identifying and curbing illicit financial flows that undermine African economies. She co-founded the Committee of Fiscal Studies in Nairobi as a think tank out of which policy and legal recommendations are made to the Kenyan government, the OECD and the United Nations Tax Committee relating to tax and development by presenting recommendations that take a heterodox critique to mainstream colonial influenced fiscal regimes and their approach to development. To ensure that her work speaks to the economic empowerment of women, Lyla's research and advocacy is framed around feminising public and private finance. Lyla is currently supporting the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa on developing proposals to combat corruption and money laundering in Africa.

Dr Rajnaara Akhtar

Rajnaara's research on marriage and divorce in Qatar takes a feminist approach and looks at the multifaceted forms of inequality that can arise for women within the relevant legal processes. The study seeks to ascertain what particular social, cultural, legal, financial and other challenges women face in legally marrying and legally divorcing, and their views on the effectiveness of legal and quasi-legal processes they are required to adhere to. Funded by the Doha International Family Institute, one of the key research questions asks how Qatar’s family law regime constructs the rights and responsibilities of men and women in the family, and what the resultant implications and outcomes are. It further seeks to gather evidence on how women’s individual experiences are shaped by the law, institutional processes associated with family law, social expectations, cultural norms, religious discourses and other factors. This research has the potential to impact on family law infrastructure in Qatar.

Professor Shaheen Ali

Shaheen Sardar Ali is Professor of Law, University of Warwick, UK; Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law. Her most recent appointment was as the founding Rector of the National Academy of Higher Education, Pakistan (2020-22). Shaheen has had a diverse and rich experience beyond the academy as well and has been Vice-Chair of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (2008-2014); Professor II University of Oslo; Professor of Law, University of Peshawar, Pakistan, as well as Director Women’s Study Centre at the same university. She has a number of ‘firsts’ to her credit including being the first woman law professor in Pakistan, the first woman cabinet Minister for Health, Population Welfare and Women Development, Government of the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan, the first Chair of Pakistan’s National Commission on the Status of Women and the first women law professor of Pakistani origin to become a professor in a UK university.

Professor Ali has received a number of national and international awards including the Public Sector Award (Asian Women Achievements Awards) 2005, the British Muslims Annual Award at the House of Lords, 2002; the Presidential Award (Aizaz-i-Fazeelat) in 1992 for contribution to the teaching and research in higher education (Pakistan). In 2012, she was named one of the 100 most influential women of Pakistan. Professor Ali has published extensively in Islamic law, international human rights law including human rights of women and children and family law. She is the author of 9 books, 42 journal articles and 32 book chapters as well as a number of reviews and reports for national and international bodies. Her monograph, Modern Challenges to Islamic Law (Cambridge University Press, 2016) has been widely acclaimed as a ground-breaking contribution to Islamic law scholarship.

Professor Vanessa Munro

Vanessa has been researching on the topic of feminist theory and law/policy responses to gender-based violence for over 25 years. She has looked at issues spanning reproductive agency, sex trafficking and prostitution policy, and the handling of women’s asylum applications in the UK. The main focus of her research has, however, been around sexual violence and domestic abuse. She has conducted a series of projects advocating for more trauma-informed approaches within the criminal justice process, exploring prosecutorial and jury decision-making in rape cases, and illuminating the links between domestic abuse and suicidality. Her current projects include – being part of the JICSAV team (led by colleagues at Coventry and Lancaster Universities) that explores the justice journeys of survivors of sexual violence during the Covid pandemic; working with colleagues at University of Leicester and De Montfort University to evaluate professional and lay understandings of the coercive control offence; working with colleagues at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow on the use of sexual history and private data in Scottish rape trials; and conducting Home Office funded research with colleagues at Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse into Domestic Homicide Reviews in cases involving suicide. Her research has influenced policy in a number area areas, including use of judicial directions in rape cases, Special Measures in rape trials, domestic abuse & suicidality, and the future of the Not Proven verdict in Scotland. She recently sat on the Ministry of Justice’s End to End Rape Review, and has previous acted as a Special Advisor to Government / Parliament on Trafficking and Sexual Offences Policy, as well as providing training to Sexual Offences and Asylum Tribunal judges. She also acts as a member of the Commonwealth Expert Group of the Human Dignity Trust, and sits on the Centre for Women’s Justice Femicide Group and Academic Advisory Group of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.

Dr Jane Bryan

As the Academic Lead of the University’s Community Values Education Programme (CVEP), Jane works with a team of nine others, including Puja Laporte, CVEP’s Programme Manager, to deliver Active Bystander Education to all incoming students to help change the culture around sexual harassment and violence on campus and create a safer, more positive experience for female identifying staff and students. Based on the research of Helen Mott, Active Bystander Education recognises that every one of us plays a part in creating our university culture through the things we do and the things we silently accept. The Active Bystander ten-hour course empowers students to recognise and challenge safely instances of sexual misconduct and abuse they witness. For more information about the programme and available training, see here. The Active Bystander programme at Warwick under Jane’s leadership won the inaugural Warwick Award for Excellence in EDI 2021.