Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla
Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla, Justice, Supreme Court of Nepal, was widely recognized as a prominent human rights lawyer, who consistently advocated for women's right and right of marginalized group's right. She was the driving force behind the passage of legislation to equal right to property for women; criminalize marital rape and domestic violence, decriminalization of abortion and maintaining confidentiality in accessing justice. In 1995, she founded the Forum for Women Law and Development Nepal to protect human rights, particularly for women and minorities, using the law to empower them. As a Public Interest Lawyer, she brought/litigated several landmark cases to Nepal's Supreme Court from Environmental issues to Gender Justice. She was nominated in 2008 at the First Constituent Assembly of Nepal where she contributed extensively in negotiating and drafting the new Constitution of Nepal. In 2012, she was also awarded Senior Advocate. She was appointed as an independent expert in United Nations Committee against Torture in 2014. In 2016, she was appointed as a Justice in the Supreme Court of Nepal.