Renowned international human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney, is a well-known fashion icon who is commonly featured in Vogue magazine. Her excellent style and fashion can only be described as iconic and timeless, with SKIMS collaborations and high-end celebrity events, which she attends with her heart-throb husband, George Clooney. However, her fashion sense is one of the last things she chooses to brag about.
Amal Clooney is one of few ranked in the Legal 500, as well as being the leading barrister in international human rights law, public international law and international criminal law. She is able to practice law in the USA, England and Wales, after taking the bar exam in both the USA (2002) and UK (2010).
Clooney has done exceeding work for Yazidi people facing genocide from ISIS, and women who were abused by the terrorist group after they invaded Yazidi villages. Clooney represented one of the victims Nadia Murad, a Noble Peace Prize winner, in the fight towards justice. Nadia Murad was one of the 6700 Yazidis taken and sold by ISIS. Not only did ISIS kidnap and enslave Yazidi women, they also mass murdered many more innocent men, women and children. Much of the evidence which Amal Clooney collected was mass graves, DNA and phone records highlighting plans and record of the executions of the Yazidi people. Amal took this evidence to the United Nations and fought for justice for those victims of the genocide.
The results of this case were a full investigation into the Yazidi genocide where the evidence of mass graves was fully excavated for further investigation. Umm Sayyaff – a woman in ISIS who would lock victims in rooms for beatings and ‘prepare’ the women for rape – was also transported to the United States where she was charged for her crimes.
Both Amal Clooney and George Clooney co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) where they provide free legal aid to those who are victims of human rights abuse in 40 countries around the world.
In an article from the BBC, when asked if her husband’s fame helped any of her cases, she replied ‘Lots of my work takes place behind closed doors’, however, her marriage did help expose the genocide of the Yazidis, giving both her and the victims she represents, a larger platform to fight for justice.
So, although we may look at Amal Clooney and see her on the surface: an actors wife known for her taste in fashion, a deeper dive portrays that she is one of the first celebrity human rights lawyers who have made a name for themselves before accumulating fame.