Standard Chartered Hosts Legal Aid Society for Awareness Session on Women’s Rights and Access to Justice

Reinforcing its commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive workplace, Standard Chartered Pakistan recently hosted the Legal Aid Society (LAS) for a legal awareness session focused on women’s rights, legal protections, and access to support services in Pakistan.

The session brought together colleagues from across the Bank, including support and contractual staff, reflecting Standard Chartered’s commitment to extending awareness across its wider workforce. By equipping women with greater knowledge of their rights and available support mechanisms, the initiative also contributes to broader efforts aimed at advancing empowerment, inclusion and economic participation.

The session deepened participants’ understanding of key legal issues impacting women, including inheritance rights, the Nikahnama, cyber safety, online harassment, gender-based violence laws, and available legal aid resources. Participants were also introduced to support platforms such as the Sindh Legal Advisory Call Center (SLACC) and NAZ Assist, Pakistan’s free multilingual legal advisory chatbot.

The session featured Barrister Haya Emaan Zahid, Chief Executive Officer of the Legal Aid Society, and Advocate Farah Khan, Strategic Litigation Lead at the Legal Aid Society, who shared insights on legal empowerment, access to justice, and the importance of creating greater awareness around the rights and protections available to women. The discussion was also attended by representatives from organisations including OICCI and Jazz, helping broaden the dialogue around women’s empowerment and inclusion.

Yasir Khwaja, Head of Human Resources, Standard Chartered Pakistan, said: “Knowledge is a powerful enabler of empowerment. At Standard Chartered, we are committed to creating opportunities for meaningful learning and dialogue that help our colleagues better understand the issues that impact their lives and communities. We are grateful to Haya Emaan Zahid and Farah Khan for sharing their expertise and perspectives, and for helping raise awareness about the rights, protections and support systems available to women in Pakistan. By fostering greater understanding and extending these conversations across our wider workforce, we can contribute to a more inclusive workplace and help create more equitable communities.”

Haya Emaan Zahid, Chief Executive Officer, Legal Aid Society, said: “Legal awareness is a critical step towards empowerment. By helping people better understand their rights and the support available to them, we can enable more informed decision-making and strengthen access to justice. We are pleased to partner with Standard Chartered on this initiative and contribute to meaningful conversations around issues that affect women across Pakistan.”

The initiative forms part of Standard Chartered Pakistan’s broader Diversity and Inclusion agenda, which aims to foster a workplace culture where everyone feels valued and empowered to achieve their full potential. Through initiatives such as these, the Bank continues to create opportunities for learning, dialogue and awareness that support more inclusive workplaces and communities.