Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative(IWEI) was established under The Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990 with registration number RC 856560 on 24 November 2009 as a non-governmental and non-profit organization by Maryam Uwais in memory of her late father, Isa Wali who was a well-known activist for women.

Mission – IWEI seeks to transform the society by enabling women, youth and children escape the cycle of poverty and ignorance mostly fostered by harmful traditional practices, by attaining a state of wellbeing and having a voice through innovative, qualitative and sustainable empowerment programmes.

IWEI has 4 thematic areas which are: Legal Empowerment & The Rule of Law, Girls Empowerment, Economic Empowerment and Family Health & Nutrition,

Under the Legal Empowerment & The Rule of Law component, community-based volunteers are trained as paralegals to provide access to justice for the underprivileged, vulnerable members of rural communities and urban poor communities and for pre-trial persons in police stations and prisons.

Services provided by IWEI community-based paralegals include: access to lawyers; linkages with families; mediation of compoundable offences and provision of access to information on the law and legal procedures to detainees. Paralegals also raise awareness and educate communities on rights issues and laws.