Legislation to increase the legal age of marriage to 18 came into force in England and Wales this year and was the culmination of a five-year campaign to help protect vulnerable children from being forced into marriage.
Shabina Begum, 36, a senior associate at Dawson Cornwell, a London law firm, was in the legal team that helped to draft what became the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act.
Her efforts — given without charge — were recognised last week when she became one of seven Legal Heroes 2023, an award by the Law Society of England and Wales to solicitors judged to have made the biggest difference to the lives of others, their local communities and society over the last two years.
Begum’s involvement