Shehnaz Khatun

Shehnaz Khatun is an Advocate from Nepal and an LLM candidate at the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (UMSAILS), University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka. She is pursuing her postgraduate legal studies in Bangladesh as a fully funded scholarship recipient and SAF Scholar. Her journey from Nepal to advanced legal study in Bangladesh reflects her commitment to continuous learning, legal excellence, and meaningful engagement with law and society. She served as a Legal Research Intern at Himal Innovative Development Research Pvt. Ltd., contributing to policy and legal research initiatives. Her previous legal experience also includes an internship at Pioneer Law Associates, where she gained practical exposure to legal proceedings and client handling, and an internship at the Judicial Committee at Office of the Municipal Executive, Butwal Sub Metropolitan City, where she assisted with drafting, policy researcher, local dispute resolution, case intake, legal procedures, and community-level legal matters.

Her areas of professional interest and capability include legal research, negotiation, public speaking, leadership, people management, moot skills, content creation, dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration practice trainer to students, digital rights, human rights, women’s rights, legal awareness, and governance. She brings a strong ability to communicate complex ideas, engage with diverse audiences, and approach challenging work with preparation, discipline, and a solution-oriented mindset. Shehnaz has developed a strong foundation in moot court and international legal competitions. She was a Finalist in the 2021 CLE Mock Pre Trial-Hearing organised by BABSEACLE and ranked 5th in the Bharat Raj Upreti Moot 2023. She participated in the AIAC APAC Pre-Moot 2024 for the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, gaining experience in an international commercial arbitration moot environment. She also participated in the Nuremberg Moot Court 2024, representing the University of London in the written round, organised by the International Nuremberg Principles Academy and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg with international team members. She also was a Coach during Intra Moot Court Competition at Lumbini Buddhist University guided 35 students. In addition, she received Special Mention at Lumbini Nations Simulation 2023 as a delegate of the Philippines in the UNESCO Committee.

Her interest in alternative dispute resolution and international commercial arbitration is supported by her participation in a three-day Winter Course on International Commercial Arbitration at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan, conducted virtually by the Commercial Law Development Program of the United States Department of Commerce. She has also participated in a mediation-focused programme through Youth Competition and Mediation, further developing her interest in dispute prevention and mediation.

Shehnaz successfully passed the 33rd Advocate Examination and received her license from the Nepal Bar Council in 2025. During her BALLB studies, she demonstrated strong academic performance, topping the 3rd and 4th semesters and securing top-two positions in the 5th, 6th, and 7th semesters. She was awarded Inspiring Leo of the Year in 2019, received the Best Critical Thinker award at the Spring School conducted by UAP, UMSAILS, in collaboration with CELGAP, and won a hackathon conducted by the Women Data Insights Program on Data Analysis and Innovation, subsequently publishing an article on the WLiT website.

Beyond her legal education and professional experience, Shehnaz has demonstrated a sustained commitment to leadership, legal awareness, youth engagement, and rights-based advocacy. She is a former Charter Member and Leader of Leo Club of Butwal City, through which she has contributed to community initiatives and social welfare programmes. Her previous leadership and advocacy roles include General Member of Youth in Federal Discourse, Executive Board Member of Women Human Right Loose Network, USYC 2024 Cohort Council Member, Digital Leader at Gen Votes Youth in Election Process, Butwal Chapter Leader of Ladies of Liberty Alliance (2024–2025), Lumbini Province Coordinator of Digital Right Advocate Network (2024–2025) and SGRI 2024 participant of LOOM (2025).

Her public engagement has included conducting legal awareness campaigns, training programmes, workshops, and speaking engagements on topics including good governance, sexuality and law, child safety, women's rights, and youth perspectives on politics and law. She has served as a trainer for marginalised communities and delivered programmes in collaboration with civil society and youth organisations. Her speaking and training engagements have included "Speaking without Fear," "Know Your Rights: Child Safety, Liberty and Boundaries," "Beyond Silence: Combating Child Sexual Harassment and Advocating for Women's Rights,", "Understanding Politics & Law: A Youth Perspective and GuffGaff on Sexuality: Digital Security & Digital Violence Against Girls and Young People".

Shehnaz has also been actively engaged in digital advocacy and content creation since 2023, running a legal awareness campaign through @legalinfo-shehnaz and a women’s empowerment platform through @shinewithshehnaz. Her work reflects her belief in making legal knowledge more accessible and using communication and digital platforms to promote awareness, empowerment, and social impact.