Afkarech Woman of the year 2019/20

The AFKARECH WOMAN OF THE YEAR is an annual event which recognizes an individual who made an outstanding contribution to woman empowerment and society. This year candidates were nominated by the public and a short-list were presented to our AFKARECH Committee. The Committee unanimously voted on the very deserving recipient of the title was Aysha Abdulla Mutaywea. Aysha is genuine, modest, passionate and dedicated to helping women.  We are honored to have Aysha as the AFKARECH Woman Of The Year 2019/20. 

She is a licensed attorney from the Kingdom of Bahrain, a member of the Bahrain Bar Association, an international arbitration practitioner, and a litigation lawyer, Aysha is known for her expertise in MENA Region laws. She offers more than 10 years of experience in various legal fields and currently advises clients on a wide range of issues including civil, commercial, corporate, insurance and re-insurance, finance, banking, investment, energy, construction and real estate disputes.  She regularly sits as arbitrator and serves as counsel and legal expert in various international arbitration proceedings.  Aysha is highly regarded as one of the leading practitioners in the arbitration scene in the MENA region, having handled disputes under various arbitration rules.

She is one of the youngest members of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and serves on the Board of Directors of ICC Bahrain.  She is a member of the Advisory Committee at the Royal University for Women in Bahrain and the Dispute Resolution Committee at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry.  She served as a member of the Case Management Committee at the Supreme Judicial Council in Bahrain and the Board Secretary of the Chartered Institute for Arbitrators (CIArb Bahrain Branch).

Aysha is passionate about social work and established the “Pro bono Lawyers Network” in Bahrain which brings together a number of lawyers who offer free legal services to clients. The pro bono services are focused around domestic violence, sexual abuse, gender discrimination, human trafficking, human rights, immigration disputes and family law. She and her team also offer pro bono legal services through Mena Chambers Law Firm to the Women Crisis Case International and its clients. Aysha is also the co-founder of “The Feminist Club” a non-profit think tank that aims to empower women by promoting equal rights and opportunities for all women in society. The Feminist Club is a platform for the expression and exchange of thoughts and ideas. 

The AFKARECH WOMAN OF THE YEAR is an annual event which recognizes an individual who made an outstanding contribution to woman empowerment and society. This year AFKARECH selected five worthy candidates and allowed members of the public to vote on our website for their candidate. The very deserving recipient of the title was Mary Justine Todd after winning more than eighty per cent of the vote. She is a breath of fresh air is every way - her commitment, compassion and dedication are some of the immediate qualities that shine through when you meet her. 

We are honored to have Mary Justine as the AFKARECH Woman Of The Year 2018.  The work undertaken by the WCCI is incredible not just for the GCC region but on a global scale. After getting to know the WCCI Staff and learn more about their training and advocacy program is so impressive. To achieve what they have in such a short period is nothing short of incredible! We are extremely lucky to have a center like this in Bahrain!

We look forward to collaborating on projects with the WCCI in the future and making any resources AFKARECH has available to them. One of our purposed future projects is to learn from the WCCI on how to work with women who have suffered from domestic abuse by providing them a safe space to aid them in gaining their confidence back, offer them support, improve their skills and facilitate them to get back into the work force. We hope by joining forces we will continue to our shared goal to empower women.  

Learn more about the WCCI - Women's Crisis Care International and the work they do to help women who are victims of abuse here

Http://www.womenscci.org/