UW News

November 9, 2011

Law school speech focuses on gender and justice

The Role of Law in Taking Rosaries out of the Ovaries is the provocative title of a lecture to be given by Monica Roa, director of the Gender Justice Program at Womens Link Worldwide, at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in Room 138 of William H. Gates Hall.

Monica Roa

Monica Roa

Roa has a degree in law from the University of the Andes, Bogotá, Colombia and a Master of Laws from New York University. Since 2004 she has been at Womens Link Worldwide, where she has developed her ideas regarding the judiciary as a pivotal branch in democratic society and has worked to foster greater dialogue between civil society and the courts on how to interpret rights from a gender perspective.

Her work led her to file a petition before the Constitutional Court of Colombia, which led to the liberalization of the country´s abortion law. Her contribution to human rights and womens rights has been recognized by the most important media outlets in the country, which have awarded her accolades including Person of the Year in 2005 and 2006.

The talk is sponsored by the Gates Public Service Law Program. It is free and open to the public.