Law Archives - Page 5 of 34

Kate O’Regan

English-South African judge

Panamanian feminist, lawyer, judge, and activist Clara González became the first Panamanian woman to earn her Bachelor of Law Degree in 1922, the same year she established the Partido Nacional Feminista (PNF, National Feminist Party) to campaign for women’s rights and suffrage.

Jacqueline Arenstein

South African anti-apartheid activist

Leonora van den Heever

In 1991 she became the first female judge to be appointed permanently to the appellate division of the South African Supreme Court.

Margaret Keane

Although her work was hugely commercially successful, mostly through inexpensive reproductions on various items, her then-husband Walter Keane claimed credit for her paintings. It was only after their divorce that Margaret went public with her story of their abusive marriage. She later proved herself in a courtroom “paint-off,” in which Walter refused to participate.

Mary Ware Dennett

American women’s rights activist, pacifist, homeopathic advocate and trailblazer in the areas of birth control, sex education and suffrage, who co-founded the National Birth Control League in 1915

Bernice King

Bernice Albertine King carried on her family’s legacy by advancing the Kingian philosophy of nonviolent social change, as a minister, author, and CEO of the King Center.

Shirin Ebadi

Iranian Nobel-winning human rights activist

Urvashi Vaid

Indian-American lawyer and activist noted for her LGBTQ+ activism and leadership of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force during the AIDS crisis.

Maria da Penha

Brazilian survivor of domestic violence who campaigned for legal changes that established stricter sentences for physical offenders, promotd rehabilitation programs for perpetrators, and offered 24-hour police stations and shelters for abused women.