Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) Fellowship Programme at Georgetown University

The Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) Fellowship Program was founded in 1993 at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., in order to train women's human rights lawyers from Africa who are committed to returning home to their countries in order to advance the status of women and girls in their own countries throughout their careers. Over 80 women’s human rights advocates from Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe have participated in the LAWA Program, and we hope to include Fellows from additional countries in the future.

Requirements:

Candidates who are awarded a LAWA Fellowship must be prepared to cover the costs of all additional expenses (such as visas, travel, housing, utilities, food, clothing, etc.).  Candidates must be able to demonstrate to the U.S. Embassy for visa purposes that they have the full amount of funds available to cover these expenses at the time of their visa application. This totals approximately U.S. $33,000. Please refer to this sample budget. These costs are significantly less for those residing with family in the Washington, DC area. Candidates still must show at least $8,000 for living expenses. For the summer internship portion following graduation, students need to show $2,232 per month, for the 2 to 3-month internship period.

Candidates are encouraged to apply for individual funding or seek support from their employers. The LAWA Program cannot assist with these efforts. There is a fellowship available from AAUW for $20,000-$50,000. The application can be found here https://www.aauw.org/resources/programs/fellowships-grants/current-opportunities/international/. This application is due November 15.  You are strongly encouraged to carefully read and comply with every requirement of the application, as incomplete or incorrect applications will not be considered. Please also note that AAUW requires you to submit a TOEFEL score.

1. You must be a women’s human rights lawyer from Africa in order to be considered. You must hold an LL.B. or other law degree. A preference is given to candidates who:
1. a. are currently living and working in Africa, and
2. b. do not already have a Masters’ Degree.
2. The strongest applicants tend to be about five to ten years out of law school, but those with less or more experience will be considered.  Candidates with no work experience applying directly from an LL.B. degree or other law school will not be considered.
3. All people committed to women’s rights are strongly encouraged to apply, regardless of gender identity.
4. As a requirement of participation in the LAWA Program, all applicants must commit to return home to their own countries upon completion of the Fellowship, and to use their best professional efforts to advance women’s human rights throughout their careers. 
5. You must have strong English language skills, both written and oral. Language problems have been the primary barrier to success for LAWA Fellows.
6. The LAWA Program requires candidates to become proficient in using computers for drafting papers and conducting research. Candidates are strongly encouraged to learn basic computer skills before arrival to make this transition easier. At the very minimum, candidates should work to improve their typing speed.
7. Candidates must be prepared to enter a very demanding course of study. LAWA Fellows take one required course and several more elective courses over the two academic semesters. Each class requires reading hundreds of pages in preparation. Fellows are required to produce a Masters’ Thesis of publishable quality totaling no fewer than 40 pages. This entails multiple drafts with intense research, writing, and editing. Successful completion of the program requires exceptional focus, and painstaking work. Please do not apply if you are not prepared at this time to make a serious academic commitment.

The LAWA Program helps defray the costs for candidates who would not otherwise be able to afford an LL.M. degree and additional professional development training. The LAWA Fellowship provides the tuition for the mandatory Summer courses (a U.S. $5,000 benefit) and for the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the Georgetown University Law Center (a U.S. $82,264 benefit). On-campus housing is provided for the first three weeks of the summer program (a U.S. $1,400 benefit).  Fellows are also provided $2,000 towards the cost of health insurance and will be reimbursed up to $300 for required textbooks for each of the two semesters. Fellows are also reimbursed up to $300 for miscellaneous medical expenses.