Having done her Matriculation from Higher Secondary School in Takht Bhai, Naz graduated from Post graduate Degree College for Women, Mardan. Later, she did her LLB from Khyber Law College, University of Peshawar. She then wished to contest the Bar Council election, for which she needed to gain some experience and go through a selection process.
A license has to be acquired after a specific duration of practicing. She went through it all and contested the Bar Council elections. Naz remembers how she faced resistance when she began her practice as a lawyer. "How will you work alongside men and deal with them every day," she was repeatedly asked.
But she managed to become a member of the Bar despite the odds. She thanks her colleagues who she says have been encouraging throughout her career.
Initially her family was not supportive of her profession and wanted her not to pursue it. But later when she became the first female member of the bar council, they had a change of heart.
Takht Bhai Bar Council President Qamar Zaman Advocate told Naya Daur that Shakeela Naz is the only female lawyer of Takht Bhai Bar council since 1988 when the Bar was established. He added that times are now changing and women are making it big in professions that were once considered limited to men.