Dhaka-based Sayere Nazabi Sayem is an Apprentice Lawyer and a recent graduate from the Department of Law, North South University. Her career focus is writing on legal & socially pressing topics – including human and animal rights. In this interview with Asia Law Portal, she explains what inspired this career focus, what she has accomplished so far – and what she hopes to accomplish in the future.
You are an apprentice lawyer and recent law graduate and focus your career primarily on writing. What inspired you to choose this career path?
My mother enjoys recalling an incident where I, as a toddler, quarreled with a group of teenage boys lighting fire to the tail of a dog. They stopped after my admonition. I believe it began my journey of protesting against any wrongdoing. It inspired me to stand for my beliefs through my words- either verbally or on paper.
My paternal grandfather, a former police officer, primarily instilled the principles in me during my childhood to fight against all wrongs and to become a lawyer. Later, the study of law allowed me to strengthen the ideology of prioritizing human and animal lives by ensuring their rights. Then of course, I have always loved writing and speaking on public platforms so that helped me to choose the career path, as well.
To date, what topics have you focused on in your publications?
I write on a various range of topics, and I aspire to further explore beyond this range. Whenever a topic piques my interest or an incident bothers me, I try to write about it – from fictional pieces to non-fictional writings on the genocide of Bangladesh in 1971, the worldwide harmful aspects of economic sanctions, enforcing animal rights in Bangladesh and so on. I have written about implementing miscarriage leaves in workplaces without deduction of wages that later did get incorporated in the Amendment of the Labour Rules of Bangladesh, 2015 as Rule 38A, effective from the year 2022.
Venturing into legal writing has helped me shape my thoughts into something more impactful. A humungous chunk of the motivation has culminated from my mentor, Professor Dr. Md. Rizwanul Islam and his contribution to literature.
As for the fictional pieces, I first published a story, “Bondhur Jonno” (Bengali for “For a friend”) in Shishu Potrika, a renowned magazine published by Bangladesh Shishu Academy (est. 1976), the national academy for promoting the cultural development of children, in the year 2008. Other fictional writings have been published in outlets like Margins Magazine, a publication of University of Toronto Scarborough Women’s and Trans Centre (UTSCWTC), Ontario and Bangladeshi magazines; Nobarun Potrika, Bangla Express and so on. I am also translating an autobiography of a 1971 war hero, Siru Bangali titled “Bangal Keno Juddhe Gelo?” (Bengali for “Why did Bangal Leave for War?”).
Simply put, I write on various mediums and on different topics. I believe there should be no limitations.
You have expressed a particular interest in humanitarian causes. Tell us more about this.
Humanitarian causes can range from oral advocacy to publishing opinion pieces – anything that creates a difference. I try to contribute to the animal welfare system in Bangladesh. I started off with donations to the Animal Rescuers of Bangladesh (ARB), aid them with rescues on field and try to spread the word to encourage more people to do so before a formal mechanism is introduced in Bangladesh. Apart from advocating for human rights, I also am currently working as the Head of Research at Bangladesh Forum for Legal and Humanitarian Affairs (BFLHA), a non-profit organization that works in the field of social justice by promoting human rights, providing pro bono preliminary legal aid, conducting extensive legal research, & organizing humanitarian campaigns to upload the rule of law.
You’re also a public speaker and have participated in several moot court competitions. Tell us more about this.
I did try venturing into moot court competitions to experience a close-to-life court experience. Starting off with drafting memorials to the oral pleadings, the competitions test out teamwork, research ability, advocacy skills and much more. It was a great experience in my university days. We brought in glory being selected as the first and only team from Bangladesh to compete in the Nuremberg Moot Court Competition 2022, reaching the top tier oral rounds out of 150 renowned universities from all around the globe, out of which only 50 universities advanced to the oral rounds based on the merit of their memoranda. My team and I have also participated in the Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court Competition 2022 and Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition 2023, emerging as Quarter Finalists.
I have tried to share my experiences with my fellow peers and juniors from the law school at North South University by taking mooting sessions from the years 2022 to 2023 as the Mooting Instructor and Vice-President of North South University Law and Mooting Society, a co-curricular club of the school dedicated to mooting and other activities.
Your writings about your fondest memories of living in Nepal for 3 years were recently published. Tell us more about this.
Yes, an Essay Writing Competition, focusing on the Nepal-Bangladesh friendship, was organized by the Embassy of Nepal in Dhaka. I am happy that my essay was selected as a book chapter, out of hundreds of essays, published by Oikko Prokashoni, Bangladesh. It focused on a few incidents I witnessed during my stay with my mother, the then Head of Chancery of the Embassy of Bangladesh in Kathmandu and also an author. It featured few lovely people we met there and the amicable relations between the two nations. I would encourage everyone to read all the twenty selected essays in the book as it explores diverse aspects of Nepal-Bangladesh relations. I dedicate the opportunity to my mother for letting me explore the beautiful country and always encouraging me to write.
What are your long-term career goals?
I am allowing my experiences to guide me along the way. As of now, I am convinced it would need to include writing and oral advocacy since it allows for a sense of comfort and ease to be able to protect the voiceless or anyone in dire need of support. I wish to contribute to the legal system of Bangladesh as it ensures the rights of the needy and hopefully, help ameliorate a few lives.
