Winner
Aasya Ismail
International Relations and Democratic Politics MA, 2015
Aasya Ismail is a human rights lawyer who has defended women and girls, members of religious minorities and members of the media, often at great personal risk in a conservative country which has a challenging human rights situation.
Recently, she received a number of death threats for seeking to decriminalise abortion because of the way rape victims are forced to have the babies of their attackers in many instances.
Working on behalf of these victims of gender-based violence, Aasya has already secured the court's approval to argue what will be a historic case in the battle for women’s rights in Pakistan.
Aasya has received recognition from many for her work, including an award from the Christian community for defending religious minorities.
Finalists
Abdullah Yaqub
Law LLB, 2014, and Legal Practice LLM (Legal Practice Course), 2016
After graduating, Abdullah became the Head of Legal for the biggest estate management firm in the UK, responsible for over 2,000 litigations a year. Following this, he landed a legal consultant position for a Taiwanese investment management firm, and went on to become a lead consultant for contracts at Subway across UKEMEA (UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa).
Since 2022, Abdullah has been working as a Contracts Manager in construction, building data centres for multinationals and providing legal and commercial advice, all within nine years of graduating.
Alongside this, he has used his platform to create social impact with key initiatives at a grassroots level by mentoring children for tennis and football, and mentoring students at the University of Westminster for nine years in a row.
Sunita Harley
Human Resource Management MA, 2001
After working in the corporate and legal sectors in senior HR roles, Sunita chose to specialise in inclusion, professional development and coaching. She launched her own consultancy business, Collective Insight, in 2016.
Sunita’s expertise includes business psychology, leadership, creativity and collaboration.
Sunita’s achievements include being featured on the BBC and recognised as DEI Champion of the Year at the Women & Diversity in Law Awards in March 2023. She has helped teams and leaders to work collaboratively and build impactful inclusion at organisations including Marie Curie, Lloyds Banking Group, Taylor Wessing and numerous other law firms. As a certified coach, she has equipped individuals to navigate challenges and thrive in their careers.
Before starting her master’s, Sunita worked in fashion and music. As a Mauritian British South Asian woman featured in assignments for Nike, Vogue, The Body Shop and Top of the Pops, she has been instrumental in inspiring individuals from all backgrounds to pursue opportunities to succeed professionally.
Yahye Siyad
Arabic and International Relations BA, 2010, and International Human Resource Management MA, 2011
After graduating from Westminster in 2011, Yahye worked in Dubai for six years. In 2017, he secured a new role within learning and development at Emirates NBD Bank and found his passion for building people's personal and professional development.
Yahye became a certified professional coach, working for organisations to design and deliver workshops for corporate clients.
Yahye subsequently became a speaker and guest lecturer before building his consultancy, Inclusive Horizons, providing accessibility and inclusion policies to international brands. He played a pivotal role in establishing a school for blind students in Somalia.
In 2020, Yahye became an independent inclusion consultant, working with organisations globally. He published his book The Unshakeable Will and recently won the BIMA 100 2023 for most influential people in the digital industry in the UK, in the category of Champions for Change: People.