“When I first started working as a barrister, I was told off by some people in the profession. They said to me that law was a difficult profession and because I am of Asian background, a woman, from a state school and hence not a part of the ‘system’, legal practice might not be up my alley. They discouraged me to the extent that I was often advised to look for an ‘easy job’,” says Narita Bahra, who was appointed as Queen’s Counsel (QC) in January, by the monarch of Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth.
She is only the second Sikh woman to get this honour after Dame Paramjit Kaur ‘Bobbie’ Cheema, who also served as Britain’s first woman judge of Asian background in the High Court of Justice in England and Wales.
Queen’s Counsel, in simple terms, is the gold standard of Britain’s legal practice. It is said that in Britain, let alone those of Asian background, female barristers in general, who get this honour are few and far between. Those honoured with it, can use it as an honorific with their name.
Ms Bahra, (45), a mother of two young boys, spoke with SBS Punjabi from London, and shared her life’s story and what it means to don the coveted silk gown that a QC earns along with the title.
She is the daughter of Deedar Kaur Bahra, a well-known radio presenter in Britain’s Panjab Radio.“Without the support of the Punjabi community, my parents and my partner, getting here would have been impossible because our profession is a test of time and patience. It takes seven years to study law but it took me 20 long years to become worthy of the title of QC,” says Ms Bahra, who is considered amongst Britain’s best criminal lawyers.
She is one of the handful of barristers in Britain with in-depth knowledge of hawala transactions, an informal and infamous remittance system popular amongst people of Indian and other Asian backgrounds.
Ms Bahra is the only woman of Asian, migrant and ethnic descent to work in 2 Hare Court, a premier barristers chambers of London. She is also a director at Garrick Law, a leading London law firm that specialises in family and criminal matters. She frequently appears on news channels like Sky News and BBC where she speaks on legal matters.
Click on the player at the top of the page to listen to this interview in Punjabi.
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