Maryam Uwais

Maryam Uwais, (MFR) is a Nigerian business woman, lawyer, human right activist and politician who served as the Special Advisor on Social Investments to Muhammadu Buhari.

Career

In 1981, Uwais started her education at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where she had her LLM in 1985. Nigeria Institute for Advanced Legal Studies awarded her a certificate of honor in Advanced practice and Procedure that same year and Legal drafting in 1989.

She worked as a special rapporteur on Child's right of the Council of the National Human Rights Commission. She has also worked at the Justice Research Institute and Coalition Against Tobacco. In 2009, She founded the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative. She has also worked as a Non-Executive Director and Member of Board of Directors of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC.

Awards and recognitions

In 2011, President Goodluck Johnathan awarded Maryam a National Honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic. The International Women’s Society awarded her that same year with the Humanitarian of the Year Award. In 2012, she was the recipient for the The Outstanding Leadership Award for contributions to equity, justice and human rights in Nigeria, an award sponsored by Business and Professional Women in Nigeria Association and This Day Awards for women for service of Nigeria. An award by [[The Nigerian Human Rights Community in appreciation of contributions as Member of The African Union Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in 2013. In 2014, she won one of the five McNulty Prize Laureates at the Aspen Institute, Colorado for Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative. She was the recipient of National Human Rights Commission Awardee for Outstanding Contributions in the Advancement of the Rights of Women and Children in Nigeria, 2015.