Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Social Inquiry) Bachelor of Laws, 2012
Law Award
Amani Haydar is a lawyer, writer and artist who makes a remarkable contribution to the community through her professional, volunteer, creative and advocacy work – despite having faced incredible trauma in her personal life.
Amani has been a passionate advocate and campaigner for ending violence against women since her father murdered her mother in 2015. She takes a multidisciplinary approach to raising awareness about gender-based violence, law, policy and the effects of structural inequality on women.
She serves on the board of the Bankstown Women’s Health Centre and in this capacity she worked with her local MP to lobby for changes to the law to allow for victims of domestic violence to access support. She has drafted submissions to the NSW Sentencing Council and advocated for changes to Parental Leave legislation.
She has also been an Artist in Residence at Sweatshop, a literary movement devoted to empowering culturally and linguistically diverse communities through reading, writing and critical thinking.
Last year Amani was named 2020 Local Woman of the Year for Bankstown and was a finalist for the NSW Premier’s Woman of the Year Award. A Community Recognition Statement was also tabled in NSW Parliament in recognition of her advocacy. Amani’s writing and illustrations have been featured in a range of publications including ABC News Online and SBS Voices. She has contributed to a Walkley Award winning journalism series and been a finalist in the Archibald Prize for her painting. Her debut memoir was published by Pan Macmillan in June 2021.
Amani was carving out a successful career as a litigator when her mother was murdered. Prior to graduating, she was a stand-out student at UTS who was already committed to making a difference.
I would like to see greater sensitivity towards victims of crime and a deeper appreciation of the factors that shape the experience of homicide victims and witnesses in the legal process. I’m interested in how we might provide more holistic responses to people who have trauma as a result of crime victimisation.