Hauwa Ibrahim (born 1968) is a Nigerian human rights lawyer who won the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize in 2005. She was especially cited for her pro bono work defending people condemned under the Islamic Sharia laws that are in force in the northern Nigerian provinces, including her defence of Amina Lawal, Safiya Hussaini and Hafsatu Abubákar.
"Hauwa has been a Visiting Professor at Saint Louis University School of Law and Stonehill College, a World Fellow at Yale University, a Radcliffe fellow, and a fellow at both the Human Rights Program and the Islamic Legal Studies Program at Harvard University.
While a Radcliffe fellow, Ibrahim adopted an interdisciplinary approach to delve into the theoretical foundations of Shariah law and examine how they have influenced legal practice, which has, in turn, affected the human rights of women in West Africa. Her research led to the book Practicing Shariah Law: Seven Strategies for Achieving Justice in Shariah Courts, published in January 2013."