Georgetown Law Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) 2022-2023

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The Georgetown Law Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) 2022-2023 program is now accepting applications.

The LAWA Fellowship Program was established in 1993 at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., to educate African women’s human rights attorneys who are dedicated to going home to their countries throughout their careers to enhance the situation of women and girls in their own nations.

The LAWA Program has brought together more than 80 women’s human rights activists from Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The LAWA Fellowship Program lasts around 14 months (from July of the first year to August of the following year), after which the LAWA Fellows return home to continue campaigning for women’s rights in their respective countries.

The Fellows begin the LAWA Program in July when they take the Georgetown Law Center’s Foundations of American Law and Legal Education course.

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Fellowship for Georgetown Law Leadership

The LAWA Fellowship covers tuition for the Georgetown University Law Center’s Foundations of American Law and Legal Education Course (a $5,000 benefit) and the LL.M. degree (a $66,650 benefit), as well as professional development courses.

Candidates accepted into the LAWA Program must be able to demonstrate to the US Embassy that they have the funds available to cover all additional expenses (such as visas, travel, housing, utilities, food, clothing, health insurance, books, and so on) and must be able to show that they have the funds available to cover those expenses (approximately $28,000).

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must be an African lawyer who specializes on women’s human rights. An LL.B. or equivalent legal degree is required. Candidates that meet the following criteria are given priority:

are currently living and working in Africa, and
do not already have a Masters’ Degree.

The best candidates are those who have been out of law school for five to 10 years, although those with less or more experience will be evaluated. Candidates with no job experience who are applying straight from an LL.B. or another legal school will be rejected.

Applicants who are devoted to women’s rights, both men and women, are highly urged to apply.

All candidates must agree to return to their home countries after completing the Fellowship and to employ their best professional efforts to improve women’s human rights throughout their careers as a condition of participation in the LAWA Program.

You must have excellent written and spoken English language abilities. For LAWA Fellows, language barriers have been the most significant impediment to their achievement.

Candidates for the LAWA Program must be adept in utilizing computers to write papers and do research.

To make the transition smoother, candidates are highly advised to obtain basic computer skills before arriving. Candidates should attempt to increase their typing speed at the very least.

Candidates must be prepared to begin a rigorous program of study. Over the course of two academic semesters, LAWA Fellows study four mandatory courses and numerous additional optional courses. Each lesson requires hundreds of pages of reading ahead of time. Fellows must submit a Master’ thesis of at least 40 pages, with numerous revisions, including extensive research, writing, and editing. The program’s completion requires intense concentration and dedication. If you are not willing to undertake this significant academic commitment, please do not apply.