All Women Are Created Equal – Only the Finest become Lawyers.

Meet Laja Woman Yogini Mehta – a practicing lawyer with more than 26 years of experience. She is also a certified counsellor and works with an NGO where she imparts soft skills training and counselling to the underprivileged. She is the Secretary in the Lawyer’s Federation for Women, Gujarat and Joint Secretary in the Lawyer’s Federation for Women, India.

One among 4 sisters, Yogini grew up in an absolute middle class household. Her parents worked hard and gave Yogini and her sisters the best of everything. But surrounded by rich friends, Yogini grew up with a complex till she joined college. It was then that she decided to snap out of her complex and focus on making something of her life.

She completed her law but wasn’t allowed to practice her profession for three years because her in laws considered this against their status. But, she was not the kind to sit idle for long. So, in spite of objections from her in laws, she started her practice afresh in Ahmedabad at the age of 40 years. Her determination saw her through the harassment and humiliation by her in laws with regards to her children and her work. Her husband was not doing too well in her business and this added to the challenges that life threw at her. Till date, in spite of her family being well settled and comfortable, her greatest fear remains financial insecurity.

Talking about the challenges that she faced in her career, she says that it began with her in-laws protesting her decision to become a career woman. They refused to take care of her daughter during her working hours.

She had to put her in a creche where she took a lot of time to settle down. After that she faced all the challenges that a woman faces in a male dominated profession like law. She found a good senior lawyer who taught her the tricks of the trade and mentored her very well but exploited her financially. Also, being a woman, whenever a judgement went in her favour, there were allegations on her character by her male counterparts. But her grit and determination overcame these challenges and her moment of glory came when she earned more than one lakh as fees for a case. This was the first of many, and recalled with great pride by her.

Speaking about the sacrifices she had to make to reach where she is today, Yogini says that she has always prioritized her family before herself – this led her to sacrifice many of her material wants and save that money for the security of her family. Also, she decided against practising in the high court so that she could give enough time to her kids. She feels bad about this sometimes, but accepts that it was a conscious decision and hence it would be futile to have regrets.

Today, she feels she is truly happy and contented. Her daughter is married and well settled in the US. Her son is pursuing his masters in the USA. Her days are less hectic now and she prefers to devote time to living a more balanced life – with morning yoga, evening walks with her husband and around 6-8 hours in between devoted to work.

Her favourite quote is “Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander”. We couldn’t agree more. Team Laja salutes this courageous Queen of the Court.