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As a professor of law, Jane Aiken mostly teaches theory. As a
Fulbright Scholar in Nepal, however, she actually helped bring
that theory to life. "It was an amazing opportunity to see
social justice in action in an emerging country," she says.
"It's almost like living in the United States in 1780. There
are so many legal issues with the developing constitution."
Building on an already existing collaborative program between
Washington University in St. Louis, where she teaches, and Nepal's
Tribhuvan University, Aiken spent four months in
Kathmandu working to improve women's rights. She served as a guest
lecturer at Tribhuvan in civil rights and jurisprudence classes,
an experience she says was interesting and exciting. "The
students were truly engaged and enthusiastic about learning the
law," she says. "They were always well-prepared and
appeared to hunger for intellectual exchange. They are among the
brightest and best I've ever taught."
Since Aiken was not teaching a full course load, she did much
of her work in the field. She helped draft an advocacy document
describing the contents of the Women's Property Bill, pointing
out areas that could be improved or amended to make the bill more
responsive. She also participated in a training session for male
and female advocates in order to assist women in rural areas in
implementing their property rights. "Because the laws in
Nepal are changing faster than people can understand them, it
is difficult for women to keep pace with their new rights,"
Aiken says. She also met with women advocates throughout Nepal
and the head of the Human Rights
Commission to discuss the fate of the Women's Property Bill and
the approach the women's community should take.
Another area that Aiken became involved in was HIV/AIDS policy.
Many of the men in southern Nepal migrate to India to work for
extended periods of time. Their wives expect infidelity, and many
men come home infected. Aiken wrote an in-depth policy document
on HIV law and policy in Nepal that addressed every aspect of
how the disease affects people and policymakers. She also included
information on methods used by countries around the world to educate
people on HIV, and she suggested ways of having condom use become
commonplace.
Working closely with the law school and several nongovernmental
organizations, Aiken trained 15 lawyers in mediation skills and
drafted a clemency petition to the King on behalf of 12 women
serving life sentences for self-induced abortions. The law professor
also did a great deal of speaking at seminars and professional
gatherings. Among her many engagements were a Nepal Bar Association
meeting, where she discussed women's rights and various approaches
to feminist jurisprudence, and two local radio programs, during
which she spoke on domestic violence.
During her stay Aiken contributed two articles for publication:
a short piece on women's rights that appeared in Namaste Magazine
and a scholarly article on her Fulbright work that was published
in a Nepali journal. A second article on her research in Southeast
Asia was recently published in an issue of the Global Legal Studies
Journal. Aiken believes a document she helped draft to prevent
trafficking of women had the biggest impact on Nepal, however.
She was part of a group that wrote a regional treaty among Pakistan,
Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan to cooperate in the prosecution
of those who traffic women and children for prostitution. "I
only played a small role, but it was wonderful to be part of something
that monumental," she says. "Crimes like trafficking
don't stop unless you have agreement among all the countries.
Shortly after I left, the treaty became a law. That is quite an
accomplishment."
Although she was extremely busy, Aiken and her husband and three
children still found time to enjoy the marvels of Nepal. Her husband,
Thomas Hagerty, taught sociology and physical education at a nearby
American school that their children-9-year-old Lanier, 7-year-old
Robert, and 4-year-old Claire-also attended. As a family, they
had unique, memorable adventures. They climbed in the Himalayas,
spending each night at a different tea house. They all rode elephants
in search of rhinos and tigers in the Terai. "We found lots
of rhinos, but only heard the tigers," she says.
The entire family fell in love with the country and its people.
"I have never been embraced like that in my entire life,"
Aiken says. "The people are so loving and wonderful. We were
only there a couple of months before 9/11, so we knew almost no
one. But we got so many calls from the Nepali people expressing
their sympathy and giving us their support."
Since her return, Aiken has put the students in her Civil Justice
Clinic to work on policy issues in Nepal. Using the Internet,
the students work with other students in Nepal, editing their
English and sending them supporting documents. Thanks to funding
from Washington University School of Law, five law students went
to Kathmandu in 2002, and nine were scheduled to go this summer.
"None of this would have been possible without the Fulbright
Scholar Program," Aiken says. "It was the best professional
experience of my life. It taught me about being a citizen of the
world."
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