17 June 2026
Post-Illiberal Women’s Rights
Women’s rights turned out to be the litmus test for harms caused by the rule of law backsliding. That is why it is worth analysing the effectiveness of the post-2023 restoration of the rule of law in Poland, focusing specifically on what was visibly undermined by the populists: women’s rights. We argue that the pre-populist negligence in recognising the constitutional status of women’s rights made it easier for populists to attack them. Such negligence can also be identified in the Hungarian context. Continue reading >>
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01 June 2026
Shirin Ebadi
Like many Iranians in 1979, Shirin Ebadi had hoped the revolution would bring something better. The regime that emerged gave her a lifetime’s work proving it had not. Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer, jurist, and human rights activist who became the first Muslim woman and the first Iranian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. Her life is a testament to how legal training can be transformed into a means of resistance and how an individual, despite being stripped of institutional power, can still use the law as a tool for justice. Continue reading >>
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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 >>07 January 2026
The Monster Screaming the Loudest
In late October 2025, the majority of the Latvian Parliament voted to denounce the Istanbul Convention. This move faced considerable civic protests and was ultimately suspended due to a presidential veto. Nevertheless, what happened in Latvia was not a mere national power play. The withdrawal attempt was a manifestation of a broader challenge posed to Latvia and to Europe in general by disinformation, the growing backsliding threats to constitutional democracies, and by an ancient monster still lurking in the shadows of Europe. Continue reading >>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 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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