Lex Initiative for Rights Advocacy and Development (LIRAD) is a feminist legal organisation advancing human rights and public interest lawyering for marginalised women and structurally excluded groups in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. Our work is grounded in intersectionality, social justice, and the belief that every woman regardless of background or identity, deserves equal access to rights, resources, and dignity.
We work at the intersection of gender, law, and justice, supporting women with intersecting vulnerabilities as well as those criminalised by poverty. Our focus areas include:
Legal Empowerment – through legal aid clinics, strategic litigation, and feminist lawyering
Reproductive Justice – advocating for bodily autonomy and access to SRHR services
Digital Rights & Inclusion – protecting the rights of women with intersecting vulnerabilities online
Climate & Environmental Justice – exposing legal and policy gaps that worsen gendered climate vulnerability
Governance & Accountability – influencing laws and policies to reflect the realities of marginalised women
Through legal clinics, pro bono representation, and capacity building for young feminist lawyers, we challenge structural injustice and expand access to rights and remedies. We also engage in research and policy reform to influence national and subnational frameworks on climate justice, digital rights, and reproductive justice.
LIRAD is committed to transparency and impact. We monitor and evaluate our programmes to ensure our work leads to lasting change locally and nationally.
"Advocating for rights, amplifying voices"
Mission Statement
We champion equality, justice, and human rights for marginalised women through advocacy, public interest lawyering, and partnerships driving sustainable development.
Vision
Justice and equality for every woman.
Core Values
A – ACCOUNTABILITY
C – COURAGE
E – EMPATHY
D – DIGNITY
I – INTERSECTIONALITY
T – TRANSPARENCY
E – EMPOWERMENT
KEY LEGAL FOCUS FOR ADVOCACY
- Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Reproductive Justice: Advocating for marginalised women’s access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, autonomy over their bodies, and the elimination of barriers to reproductive rights.
- Digital Justice: Ensuring equitable access to digital platforms, protecting the digital rights and privacy of marginalised women, and advocating for their safety from online harassment and digital surveillance.
- Climate Justice: Addressing the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalised women, advocating for their inclusion in climate-related decision-making, and ensuring that environmental policies are gender-responsive.
- Anti-Discrimination Law: Protecting marginalised women from discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, HIV status, and disability in all spheres of life, including employment, healthcare, and education.
- Criminal Justice and Penal Reform: Challenging the criminalisation of sex work, sexuality, drug use, and poverty-driven offenses, and advocating for prison reforms to improve the treatment of women, including trans women, in the justice system.
- Labor Rights: Advocating for the protection of marginalised women in the workplace, ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions, and protection from exploitation, especially in informal and precarious sectors such as sex work and domestic work.
- Family Law: Promoting the rights of marginalised women in matters of marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, and protection from domestic violence, with a focus on ensuring gender equality in family structures.
- Property and Land Rights: Securing access to and control over land and property for marginalised women, particularly those from rural areas, women with disabilities, and women from indigenous communities.
- Health Law: Advocating for equitable access to healthcare services for women living with HIV, women who use drugs, and other marginalised groups, and addressing systemic barriers to comprehensive healthcare. Mental health care must be integrated into healthcare advocacy for marginalised women, particularly for those who face trauma, stigma, or violence. Advocacy should push for access to psychological counselling, support for survivors of gender-based violence, and de-stigmatisation of mental health services, making them an essential part of the healthcare package.
- International Human Rights Law: Utilising international human rights frameworks to advocate for the protection and promotion of the rights of marginalised women, holding states accountable for upholding these rights.
- Immigration and Asylum Law: Protecting the rights of marginalised women seeking asylum or refuge due to gender-based violence, persecution due to sexual orientation, or other forms of discrimination.
- Housing Rights and Shelter Law: Advocating for access to safe, affordable housing for marginalised women, particularly those at risk of eviction, homelessness, or displacement due to poverty or discrimination.
- Education Law: Ensuring access to education for marginalised girls and women, particularly those from underserved communities, women with disabilities, and those facing gender-based exclusion.
- Social Protection and Welfare Law: Advocating for economic and social support systems, such as welfare benefits and social security, that can protect marginalised women from extreme poverty and exclusion.
BARR. AUGUSTA YAAKUGH-SHAHIN (MCIArb UK)
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR