02 April 2026
Amalia González Caballero de Castillo Ledón
“Will we women have the strength necessary to do away with the traditional Mexican concept of a democracy without women?” What sounds like an oxymoron today was the very real question women all around the world had to face in the 20th century. Fortunately, the answer to this question posed by Amalia González Caballero de Castillo Ledón would eventually be affirmative – after 24 years of struggle to obtain women’s suffrage. Continue reading >>
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23 March 2026
Zheng Yuxiu
As the first female lawyer in China, Zheng Yuxiu made her mark on legal history. Her achievement was no accident. It rested on a lifelong willingness to question traditions and go her own way – a way that led her through revolution, state-building and women’s emancipation in early twentieth-century China. Continue reading >>
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02 February 2026
Rosa Luxemburg
Shaping left-wing politics and writing numerous political papers, her name is familiar to many: Rosa Luxemburg. After growing up in Poland, she pursued a broad and interdisciplinary education. Alongside other subjects, she attended law courses and earned a doctorate with a dissertation on Poland’s industrial development. Following her academic years, she began a political career in Germany – a career that would infamously come to a brutal end. Continue reading >>
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02 January 2026
Abigail Smith Adams
Born into the last decades of British colonial rule in North America, Abigail Adams (née Smith) lived to see the thirteen colonies rebel, revolt, declare independence and develop into a republic. Her legacy is the wealth of more than 1,000 letters that detail not just an intimate account of one woman’s life, but the story of a momentous change in world history, told from its innermost circle. Continue reading >>
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01 December 2025
Valmaine Toki
From the quiet shores of Aotea to the echoing halls of the United Nations in Geneva, Professor Valmaine Toki has carried the voices of Indigenous peoples to the international stage. As a Māori legal scholar and tireless advocate, she draws on her own perspectives and lived experiences to fight for the 6.2 % of the world’s population who identify as Indigenous. Her work gives those voices both presence and power on the international stage. Continue reading >>
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01 October 2025
Margarette May Macaulay
Since childhood, Margarette May Macaulay has stood up for her own rights and those of people less privileged than herself. A former judge at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and past President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), she has dedicated her professional and voluntary work to advancing the rights of women, children, migrants, and other marginalized groups. Continue reading >>
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01 July 2025
Cecilia Medina Quiroga
Lawyer, judge, professor, UN legal expert, researcher – forced to start over repeatedly, Dr. Cecilia Medina Quiroga has earned herself nearly every title you could think of in the field of law. Above all, she is a specialist in international human rights law who truly believes that women’s rights can be advanced through the application of human rights. Her perspective has contributed to the development of women’s rights protection, notably in the Inter-American Court for Human Rights’ historic “Cotton Field Femicide” case over which she presided. Continue reading >>
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01 May 2025
Elisabeth Mann Borgese
In public international law circles, especially those indulging in the law of the sea, Elisabeth Mann Borgese, the youngest daughter born to German Nobel Prize-winning novelist Thomas Mann in 1918, is perhaps best known for her pioneering work on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Her convictions and contributions to the UNCLOS focused on social justice, equitable access to resources, and environmental protection. By offering a glimpse into her contributions to the UNCLOS, this post highlights how Elisabeth Mann Borgese’s ideology – influenced in part by her cautious feminist beliefs – permeates her legacy. Continue reading >>
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01 April 2025
Simone Rozès (née Ludwig)
Simone Rozès was a pioneering French jurist who left a lasting impact on the French judicial system and beyond. Her decade-spanning career was marked by her many prestigious positions and her commitment to justice. However, as a woman in the mid-20th century, she also faced various challenges, including overcoming gender barriers within the judiciary. Continue reading >>
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16 January 2025
Lucretia Mott (née Coffin)
For abolitionists, she cared too much about “the woman question”, for feminists, she was too concerned with anti-slavery reforms. Lucretia Mott was caught in a crossfire of human rights movements. Her relentless activism for universal liberty and freedom allowed her to embrace both efforts. Continue reading >>
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