Azerbaijani lawyer was selected for “Portraits of Power 2024”.
Rovshana Rahimova: “Sometimes I lose count of how many of them are now behind bars”
In addition to highlighting the human rights situation, the Human Rights House Network (HRHF) promotes independent women’s human rights defenders and their work through the annual “Portraits of Power: Women Defending Human Rights” photo exhibition.
Azerbaijani lawyer Rovshana Rahimova was selected for “Portraits of Power 2024”.
The exhibition, which has already been published for the third time, focuses on documenting human rights violations and alleged war crimes, the rule of law, women’s rights, political prisoners, freedom of speech, etc. featuring portraits and stories of women’s rights activists (WHWs) working on a variety of issues including
Rovshana Rahimova is a human rights defender from Azerbaijan. She has been involved in human rights advocacy for more than 10 years, with a special focus on women’s rights and domestic violence, including victim protection and national advocacy. Currently, as a member of the Azerbaijan Bar Association, he is also involved in the case of several political prisoners.
HRHF published an interview with him. In that interview, Rovshana Rahimova spoke about her childhood interest in law and her activities.
“As a result of my professional legal work, I discovered that one of the most violated rights in our country is women’s rights. My participation in the Azerbaijan Lawyers’ Women’s Alliance played a big role in my development in this field, and this allowed me to provide quality legal assistance to women.”the lawyer said.
“As a female human rights defender, I really feel different attitudes and sometimes I think to myself, if this is the attitude of a female lawyer, how can (domestic violence) victims be treated?” But with this comes the biggest motivation – thousands of people trust us and put their hopes in us.” Rovshana Rahimova emphasized.
He also spoke about the state of human rights in Azerbaijan:
“It is no secret that the situation of human rights in Azerbaijan is seriously deteriorating. In recent years, we have observed this especially in the arrests of independent journalists and human rights defenders. “Sometimes I lose count of how many of them are now behind bars.”
“Most civil society representatives fled the country due to the threat of arrest. It will not be a surprise if the authorities knock on the door of the lawyers tomorrow. In this case, we will have complete chaos – who will protect people, who will take care of things?”, – the lawyer said.
He also mentioned the names of the public figures he defended – Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Iqbal Abilov, Fazil Gasimov, Nargiz Absalamova and Ilkin Amrahov.