Shahd Arafat, Palestine
MA degree in International Law and International Relations
Oxford Brookes University, UK
Year of graduation: 2014
Shahd earned her MA degree in International Law and International Relations from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom in 2014. She obtained a Distinction in her dissertation, “Palestinian Prisoners’ Rights and the Identity of the Occupier”, and an overall grade of a Merit. She is working now as a lawyer at the Hussam Attereh Group for legal services, one of the leading legal companies in Palestine. Shahd has a BA in Law from An-Najah National University. Shahd volunteered as an interpreter for the Oxford Ramallah Friendship Association, participating in numerous community activities. After studying abroad, she said that she is “no longer convinced that working as a lecturer in a Palestinian university would suffice to share the expertise that I learned for the next Palestinian generation to help to create a better future for my people. I can do more! Once I return home I will proceed with my legal training to become a lawyer where I will try not to make it my living source as I want to have the marginalized and the poor as my clients.At the same time I could raise both legal and political awareness and transfer my academic experience tomy future university students”. Shahd plans to continue her involvement within her community, and embraces a role of helping those around her.