Faa’izah Hafeeza Mustafa’s desire to make a positive impact and her dream of practicing law to make that a reality, helped her to remain resolute amidst many challenges, and though it took much perseverance, she was recently admitted to the bar by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George.
“My family members and friends asked, ‘so Faaz, if law doesn’t work out, what’s Plan B?’ I said Plan B is to resort to Plan A,” said Mustafa, former sixth form law teacher. She remained true to that statement as she was determined to become a lawyer and the third time proved to be the charm.
“I told myself that if I did not make it this third time, then this is not for me,” she said. “I then met the best Contract Law lecturer Guyana has ever produced, Miss Christine McGowan. We met at my colleague’s Bar Call and she enquired about what was going on in my life. I explained my challenges to her and told her about my third-try plan. She encouraged me to remain steadfast.
“With her words playing over and over in my mind, I tried in earnest to cover everything required for the exam, even the areas of law that I did not like. Realizing that cutting corners would not make me successful, I practiced my responses and wrote until I couldn’t even feel my fingers. My students were also looking up to me and I couldn’t let them down. They were also writing their CAPE [Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations]. I am proud to say that my students were all successful. My classes obtained a 100% pass rate for the CAPE and as for me you may ask? Well, I got accepted into the Hugh Wooding Law School.”
It was also McGowan who petitioned the court on Mustafa’s behalf for her to be admitted to the bar.
Mustafa recalled that when she was faced with choosing a career path, it was a dilemma as there were three fields she could see herself venturing into: journalism, entrepreneurship and law. She shared that she admired the journalists on television and was charmed by the fact that they got the opportunity to travel to other countries. Meanwhile, she loved the idea of becoming an entrepreneur and being her own boss, but she feared the risks attached to owning a business though she remains open to this option. What led to her ultimate decision, however, was when her father, a justice of the peace, hosted an event where she was invited to give a speech. Afterwards, several people she met at the event remarked that she would make a great lawyer. It was all the affirmation she needed.
In 2016, Mustafa graduated from the University of Guyana (UG) with a Bachelor of Laws degree. Two years later, when she should have been graduating from law school, she had only just enrolled at Hugh Wooding, because of a lack of funds as well as other challenges.
One of these challenges was that she was among 80 UG graduates looking to be enrolled in a law school. However, the most sought after one, the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad, was only accepting the top 25 and she ranked number 41 on that list.
Mustafa decided to write the entrance examination to secure herself a place at the law school. She was told that usually applicants would not pass the entrance exam because it requires them to recall the content of five courses during the exam period of three and a half hours, but she put that aside and sat the exam. Her worst fears were confirmed when she failed it.
According to her, the questions were not so difficult, it was the magnitude of content that she was required to cover in the specified time that was overwhelming.
2017 brought another opportunity for Mustafa to sit the exam. After determining her weakest areas, she decided it would be best to focus on two of the five courses that were more challenging for her. By then, she was working full time and unable to give her attention to all of them. However, this was not good enough and she was unsuccessful again.
After thinking about it, she realized that she needed to lighten her workload to focus on all of the subject areas. The only way she could do this was to leave her job, but she needed the money to sustain her livelihood. Nevertheless, she resigned and was able to secure a part-time job with the Ministry of Education as a sixth form law teacher at the Mackenzie High School in Linden. With the additional time, she was able to cover all five subjects areas well and secure a spot at the Hugh Wooding Law School.
Mustafa shared that as huge as this victory was for her, it was short lived as “lack of finances, came back to haunt me”. She needed $6 million to pursue her studies, as well as additional money to cover housing, books, and living expenses. The woman explained that she sought assistance from numerous organizations but many of them told her they had already approved their budgets for the year, and they could not help her, some never replied.
“Well, my mother is an Ahmadiyya Muslim, and my Dad is a Shia Muslim, so I reached out to both Masjids,” she said. “I managed to obtain a partial loan from the Ahmadiyya Jamaat for my first year as well as a stipend.” Her grandmother also pitched in by giving her some of her pension and she prepared to set off for Trinidad with only part of the needed funds. “I was running on faith,” she said.
Three days before leaving for Trinidad, Mustafa still had no proper plans in place for housing. She turned to the Shia Masjid and was connected to members in Trinidad who provided her with accommodation for an entire year.
At the end of the first year, she still did not have the remaining funds, but then managed to secure a full scholarship or that was what she thought. Unfortunately, it fell through due to unforeseen circumstances her donor had to deal with suddenly and she thought she was out of options.
Mustafa was sure that at any time, the registrar of the school would contact her to inform her she could no longer continue her studies. Then when she thought things could not get worse, the coronavirus pandemic hit. She was close to losing her wits but testified that it was God who kept her.
She then decided to approach the school and explain her plight. Mustafa was pleasantly surprised when she was told she would be allowed her to finish her studies, but her Legal Education Certificate would be withheld until she could pay the sum owed. It was something she could work with.
During her time at Hugh Wooding, Mustafa participated in activities on and off campus. In her first year, she was a member of the Muslim Students’ Association, the Hugh Wooding Law School Choir, the Environmental Law Club and the Human Rights Committee. By the second year, her workload was more demanding, but she still remained in three of the associations. It was an enriching experience, she said.
Despite not having her Legal Education Certificate, Mustafa managed to secure a job at the Supreme Court of Guyana. However, by the time she was admitted to the bar, the lawyer had already paid off her loan and was granted her Legal Education Certificate.
She credits her success to family, friends, the different masjids that assisted, Hugh Wooding Law School, her colleagues and all who helped her in one way or another. One of these special people is Abdul Rasheed Kellman who was her fiancé during the time she was studying. The pair tied the knot last year upon her return.
Mustafa lives by the quote, ‘Success is my Birthright’. “The secret to success is to be stronger than my setbacks and not to allow any bad grade or any bad experience to demotivate or deter me from achieving what I am rightly entitled to,” she said. “Success is not for the frail or fickle but for those willing to persevere while remaining faithful to Almighty God.”
