24 In Their Capacity as Human Rights Defenders: Women research, civil litigation, assisting in training and capacity building of HRDs, all activities which are less risky but no less important to the cause, not to mention very rewarding. Mentoring of young women lawyers is necessary to increase the number of women entering and remaining in the human rights sphere. The provision of a support network is also critical to the work of a women human rights lawyers. In order for women lawyers to excel, it is also essential to create a work/life balance that includes paying attention to personal and family needs while also advancing one’s career. Advances in technology mean that women lawyers do not always need to be in the office to work, and this can be a useful tool in the endeavour to balance work and family responsibilities. A human rights woman lawyer can therefore continue to work on cases at home, in instances where such work can be done remotely. Women human rights lawyers have also found strategies to deal with potential attacks on themselves, such as attending police stations with other lawyers so that there is more safety in numbers, and reduced risk of attack. Despite the bleak picture painted above, it is not all doom and gloom. Human rights work is in itself very rewarding. Advancing the rights and fundamental freedoms of others is its own reward. Human rights lawyers are not only working for the positive transformation of our society, but are fighting against impunity and thus have a crucial role to play. As a result, there is a great opportunity for women lawyers to support each other in doing human rights work. Despite the glass ceiling in the profession, there are long-serving women human rights lawyers such as Beatrice Mtetwa, Irene Petras, Sarudzayi Njerere, Perpetua Dube, to name a few. This is proof that women have the mettle for human rights work. Many women lawyers underestimate themselves but with confidence and devotion to the cause, anything is possible.