We are absolutely delighted to be announce the launch of a paid legal internship programme for Black, Asian and minoritised women.
The legal profession is making strides to improve diversity, promote inclusion and tackle discrimination, although it certainly still has a long way to go before it eradicates inequality. As part of our anti-racism strategy which we launched in March 2021, we have created a paid part-time (3 day) internship for women from a Black, Asian and/ or minoritised background. Currently only 21% of solicitors and 14% of barristers come from a Black, Asian and/ or minoritised background. This is not good enough. We are committed to promoting and increasing diversity in the legal profession and creating an inclusive culture in which everyone regardless of their ethnic background can reach their full potential. We have therefore set up a unique paid internship for women from underrepresented groups to work with our lawyers who focus their work on holding the state to account for violence against women and girls.
About Azra Kemal
Azra was a force of nature. Although she was thrown out school as a teenager, through grit and determination she graduated in law from the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2019 and was due to begin her LPC. She cared deeply about injustice, wanting to highlight the struggles of people from minoritised and disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds which led her to working as a ‘fixer’ with Sky News home editor, Jason Farrell, on stories about county lines drug dealing. Jason’s tribute to his friend can be read here - Remembering '‘phenomenal’ Azra Kemal
Azra tragically died on 16th July 2020 at the age of just 24 in circumstances which are currently under review.
In 2021 Azra’s mother, Nevres, approached Centre for Women’s Justice after raising £10,000 in her daughter’s name. Her wish was to give disadvantaged women the opportunity to succeed in the legal profession - a cause she knew was close to Azra’s heart - and so the Azra Kemal Legal Internship Programme was born.