More women lawyers admitted to the bar
Friends Safia Ahmed (left) and Bhavishna Pillay at Suva’s Grand Pacific Hotel after their admission to the bar on August 16, 2019, by the Acting Chief Justice Kamal Kumar.
Ms Ahmed and Ms Pillay were among the 50 lawyers who were admitted – 38 were women lawyers.
Luisa Tuilau stood proud as all her years of hard work culminated into that one moment when she was admitted to the Bar as a legal practitioner at the High Court yesterday.
Ms Tuilau was among the 51 University of the South Pacific students who were sworn-in as Barristers and Solicitors during an official ceremony at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva. She is originally from Namara, Tailevu and completed part of her law programme in Vanuatu.
“Law had always been part of the pathway for me,” Ms Tuilau said. “It has always been about bringing change, making a difference somewhere.”
Ms Tuilau was also one of the 60 young people from across the Commonwealth to receive the Queen’s Young Leaders Award in 2016 for her exceptional work in the community.
Currently, she is pursuing her postgraduate qualification in Gender Studies.
Ms Tuilau said her passion was human rights and she takes every opportunity to advocate on the issue. “Even right now there is a Pacific Leaders meeting happening in Tuvalu and human rights will be part of that. I would ask our leaders to be bold and courageous and be committed to human rights for everyone,” she said.
“We are responsible for the future of our blue Pacific and as young people we need to use what we have learnt to actually make a difference somewhere.”