"Courting Justice"

Elegantly filmed, "Courting Justice: South Africa's Transformation to Democracy as Told by 6 Women Judges" also helps tell the story of its executive producer, Ruth Cowan ILR '53.

A scholar of the developing world, Cowan has devoted much of her career in academia to human rights.  As South Africa moved to a human rights-based constitutional democracy, Cowan paid particular attention to the judiciary’s role.

ILR sponsored a screening of Cowan's new film Oct. 22.  The screening was followed by a question-and-answer session with Cowan.  The event was sponsored by the ILR School and ILR International Programs.  Co-sponsors are African Development, Cornell Law School, Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program, and the ILR Global Affairs Club.

"Courting Justice" chronicles race and gender changes during South Africa's constitutional transformation and also examines the judiciary formed to guard rights.

In the film, women judges discuss slow progress toward gender and racial justice.  They also describe struggles in the communities where they lived during apartheid and the challenges of  working in the male-dominated court system and of balancing work and family.

Cowan, a scholar in residence in the Women & Politics Institute at American University's School of Public Affairs, is the founding president of Pro Mujer, a microfinance organization working in five Latin American countries.  She is also a member of the board of directors of the Global Partnership for Afghanistan, which partners with Cornell University's International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development to advance agricultural redevelopment. 

More information about Ruth Cowan is available on the International Programs Web site, www.ilr.cornell.edu/international/.