Comparative Politics and International Relations
Ph.D.
Georgia State University
See all Profiles
Faculty
Faculty
J. Jarpa Dawuni, Ph.D. (önu/ita/moom/ô)
Associate Professor
Department/Office
- Political Science
School/College
- College of Arts & Sciences
Biography
J. Jarpa Dawuni is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Howard University, Washington D.C. She is a qualified Barrister-at-Law before the Ghana Superior Courts. She holds a Doctorate in Political Science from Georgia State University. Her primary areas of research include judicial politics, women in the legal professions, gender and the law, international human rights, women’s civil society organizing, and democratization. Her recent books include: Intersectionality and Women’s Access to Justice in Africa (Lexington, 2022), Gender, Judging and the Courts in Africa: Selected Cases (Routledge, 2021), International Courts and the African Woman Judge: Unveiled Narratives (Routledge, 2018) co-edited with Judge Akua Kuenyehia and Gender and the Judiciary in Africa: From Obscurity to Parity? (Routledge, 2016), co-edited with Gretchen Bauer. As a comparative scholar who uses qualitative methodologies, she has conducted fieldwork and primary data collection in over 10 African countries, the United Kingdom and Brazil.
She has held several global competitive fellowships, including as a two-time Fulbright Specialist Scholar, a Fellow of the Salzburg Global Fellowship in Austria, a Fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS) in South Africa, and a Fellow of the French Institute for Advanced Studies at IMERA (Marseille, France). In 2016, she was awarded the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship to undertake a project on graduate student mentoring and research at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana. She is the founding Director of the Howard University Center for Women, Gender, and Global Leadership established in 2020. In 2020 she was the recipient of the Women in Law Academia International Award from the Women in Law Initiative, Austria.
Dr. Dawuni has raised over $4 million in grants, gifts and fellowships. She is the Principal Investigator (PI) of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for a study on Comparative Demographic Variation in Judiciaries, which explores the representation of Black and Afro-descendant women judges in eight countries.
In 2016, she received the President Obama White House Presidential Award for her service on the Board of ARA-W. She is a Fellow at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana. She is a Visiting Professor in the UNESCO Peace Masters Program at the University of Jaume 1 in Castellon, Spain. She has been a Visiting Scholar at Queens University, Kingston, Canada, and the University of Copenhagen iCourts Program in Denmark. She is the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Institute for African Women in Law (IAWL) which focuses on enhancing the capacity of women in the legal professions in Africa and the Diaspora. She was a Global Scholar at the Wilson Center Women in Public Service Project. She served on the board of the West Africa Research Association (WARA) and the African Research Academies for Women (ARA-W). She has consulted for the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program on gender and judicial integrity.
Dr. Dawuni belongs to several professional bodies. She is a Board Member of the African Studies Association and the Nine Dots Book Prize. She is a former Co-Convener of the Women’s Caucus of the African Studies Association. She sits on the editorial board of the Journal of International Politics and Development (JIPAD) and the Peter Lange Book Series on Studies in Law and Politics. Her research has appeared in journals such as International Journal of the Legal Profession, Studies in Gender and Development in Africa, Journal of African Law, University of Baltimore Law Journal, and Africa Today. Dr. Dawuni has presented her research internationally at professional conferences and has been invited to speak at several universities, and international events and conferences.
Education & Expertise
Education
Masters in International Development
M.A
Ohio University
Law
Barrister -at- Law
Ghana School of Law
Law
Bachelor of Law (LLB)
University of Ghana
Expertise
Comparative African politics
Gender and judging, Women and the legal professions
Women and the Law
Judicial politics and rule of law in Africa
International human rights-- violence against women and girls, human trafficking
Democratization and women's civil society organizing
International law-- international courts and tribunals, women in international diplomacy
Academics
Academics
Gender, law and politics (undergraduate)
African Nationalism (undergraduate)
Introduction to political science (undergraduate)
Africa in World Politics (graduate)
International Law (graduate)
Political Leadership in Africa (graduate)
Women and Politics: Comparative Perspectives (graduate)
Research
Research
Specialty
Women in the legal profession: African feminism: Law and development: Access to justiceFunding
National Science Foundation: Demographic Variation of Women Judges ($700,000). (PI)
Accomplishments
Accomplishments
Visiting Professor: Kings College Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, UK (2024-
Fellow: University of Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (2022)
Fellow/Chair: Institute for Advanced Studies, Aix-Marseille, France (2023)
Fellow: Salzburg Global Fellows (2022)
100 Women Law Firm/Organization Founders (Court Room Mail, Nigeria, 2021)
Winner: Women in Academia - Women in Law Initiative- Vienna, Austria, 2020
Outstanding Assistant Professor (COAS) 2018
The White House: President Obama’s Volunteer and Service Award (2016)
Outstanding Registered Student Organization Advisor. Georgia Gwinnett College (2013)
Outstanding Student Engagement Award. Georgia Gwinnett College (2012)
Fulbright Specialist Scholar
Global Fellow: Wilson Center Women in Public Leadership Program. Washington, DC.
Visiting Scholar: Queens University. Faculty of Law, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Fellow: Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship
Visiting Scholar: University of Copenhagen. Faculty of Law iCourts The Danish National Research Foundation’s Center for Excellence in International Courts.
Publications and Presentations
Publications and Presentations
BOOK
Dawuni, J.J. (2025). African Women Judges: Storytelling as Judicial Freedom. Palgrave.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-72275-2
BOOK
Dawuni, J. (Ed.), (2022). Intersectionality and Women’s Access to Justice. Lexington Publishers.
BOOK --OPEN ACCESS
BOOK
(BOOK):
ARTICLE
Dawuni, J. (2021): The legal profession in Ghana: from indigenization to globalization, International Journal of the Legal Profession, 29:1, 75-101, DOI: 10.1080/09695958.2021.1992283
ARTICLE
Dawuni, J., & Trower, C. (2021). "Representation and Inclusion in Diplomacy- A Closer Look at Black Women US Ambassadors. SAIS Review of International Affairs, Vol. 41 Iss. 1, p. 73 – 84. Available at: http://works.bepress.com/josephine-dawuni/24/
ARTICLE
Dawuni, J. (2018). African Women Judges on International Courts: Symbolic or Substantive Gains? University of Baltimore Law Review Vol. 47, 2 (3). Available at https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/ublr/vol47/iss2/3/
ARTICLE
Dawuni, J., and Kang, A. (2015). Her Ladyship Chief Justice: The rise of female leaders in the judiciary in Africa. Africa Today, 62 (2), pp 45-69. Available:http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=poliscifacpub
ARTICLE
Dawuni, Josephine. (2008). “The Gendered Face of HIV/AIDS: The Move Towards Policy Implementation in Ghana”. Studies in Gender and Development in Africa (SIGADA). Vol. 2, September. Pp.78-94.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, J.J (2025). Who will sing their songs? Women judges and the power of judicial storytelling. In Dawuni, J.J. (Ed.). African Women Judges: Storytelling as Judicial Freedom. Palgrave.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, J. (2022). Layered intersectionality and framing feminist legal discourse on access to justice for women. In Dawuni, J. (Ed.), (2022). Intersectionality and Women’s Access to Justice. Lexington Publishers.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, J. Jarpa. (2021). Gender and judging across Africa: A case of old wine in new skins or new wine in old skins? In, Dawuni, J. (ed.). (2021). Gender, Judging and the Courts in Africa: Selected Studies. A World Bank Project. New York
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, J and Badejogbin, R. (2021). Transplantation and Domestication of American Models of Legal Education in Nigeria. In, Bartie, S and Sandomierski, D (eds.), American Legal Education Abroad: Critical Histories. New York, New York University Press.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni J. Jarpa (2021). Breaking the veil of masculinity? Women in the legal academy in Ghana. In Schultz, U., Shaw, G., Thornton, M., Auchmuty, R., (eds.). Gender and Careers in the Legal Academy. Hart Publishers. 151-172.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni J. Jarpa. (2020). Keeping Gender on the Agenda for International Benches: A case study of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Freya Baetens (ed.), Identity and Diversity on the International Bench: Who is the Judge? London: Oxford University Press.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni J. Jarpa. (2020). Women in Judiciaries Across Africa. In: Yacob-Haliso O., Falola T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, 353-373. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77030-7_75-1.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine and Masengu, Tabeth. (2019). Judicial service commissions and the appointment of women to higher courts in Nigeria and Zambia. In, Sterret, Susan and Lee, Walker (eds.), Law and Courts. Edward Elgar Research Handbook, 213-230.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine. (2019). Teaching Through the Lens of a Mother. In, Harushimana, Immaculee, Davies, Deborah and Alfred Mary (eds.), Paradise to Regain: Post-Obama Insights from Women Educators of the Black Diaspora. Myers Education Press.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine. (2019). Matri-legal Feminism: An African Feminist Response to International Law. In Ogg, Kate and Rimmer, Sue Harris (eds.). Feminist Approaches to International Law. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp 445-462.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine. (2018). Judge Akua Kuenyehia: Journey of a Women’s Rights Activist. In Dawuni, J., Kuenyehia, A, (eds.). International Courts and the African Woman Judge: Unveiled Narratives. New York: Routledge.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine. (2018). Challenging Gender Universalism and Unveiling the Silenced Narrative of the African Woman Judge. In Dawuni, J., Kuenyehia, A, (eds.). International Courts and the African Woman Judge: Unveiled Narratives. New York: Routledge.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine and Kuenyehia, Akua. (2018). International Courts and the African Woman Judge: Unlocking Doors, Leaving a Legacy. In Dawuni, J., Kuenyehia, A, (eds.). International Courts and the African Woman Judge: Unveiled Narratives. New York: Routledge.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine. (2018). The Socio-Economic Implications of Violence Against Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Dibie, Robert (ed.). Women Empowerment for Sustainability in Africa. Cambridge Press Publishers.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine. (2017). Beyond the accent: navigating the multiple intersections in a foreign trained instructor classroom. In Budryte, Dovile and Boykin, Scott, (eds.) Toward a Transformative Classroom: Creating Reflective Identities in Multicultural Settings. Rowman and Littlefield.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine. (2016). Gender and the Judiciary: An Introduction. In Bauer, Gretchen and Dawuni, Josephine (eds.). In Gender and the Judiciary in Africa: From Obscurity to Parity? New York: Routledge.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine. (2016). Ghana: The Paradox of Judicial Stagnation. In Bauer, Gretchen and Dawuni, Josephine (eds.) In Gender and the Judiciary in Africa: From Obscurity to Parity? New York: Routledge.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine. (2012). Justice Annie Ruth Jiagge. In Dictionary of African Biography. Acheampong, E and Gates, Henry L Jr. (Eds.). London: Oxford University Press.
BOOK CHAPTER
Dawuni, Josephine. (2007). “Globalizing Voices: Ghanaian Women Respond to Globalization”, in Ayandiji D. Aina (ed), Corruption and the Challenge of Human Development, Ilishan-Remo: Babcock University Press pp.475-489.
RESEARCH REPORTS
- Dawuni, J.J (2024). Women in Law Across Africa: Is the Glass Half Full?
- A continent-wide study based on 590 survey responses examining the challenges and opportunities women in law face across Africa.
- Dawuni, J.J (2023) (Lead Consultant). Women in Law and Leadership: Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa.
- A four-nation study resulting in 10 standalone reports on women judges, lawyers and legal academics in four countries. A scoping study to inform the Gates Foundation on how to invest in women in law and leadership in Africa.
- Dawuni, J.J (2023) (Lead Series Editor). Women at Howard University (Working Paper Series): Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership.
- A comprehensive review of women’s representation in departments and colleges at Howard University, with 19 standalone reports written by graduate students. I designed and oversaw the entire project with support from Dr. Anita Plummer (Associate Director of Research—Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership).
A 14-nation study of women judges in Africa to understand their challenges and opportunities for leadership.
CREATIVE WORKS- VIDEO PRODUCTION
- Dawuni, J.J (2023). Women in Leadership at Howard University
-
I designed and produced a story-telling project documenting the leadership trajectory of 14 women deans, chairs and leaders at Howard University. A product of the Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership
-
- Dawuni, J.J (2022). African Women in Law Legacy Project
-
An oral history project documenting the professional trajectory of the top women judges across Africa, including Chief Justices and judges of international courts and tribunals.
-
- Dawuni, J.J (2023). African Women in Law: Becoming a Partner
- An oral history project documenting how women get into leadership positions in law firms as partners and managing partners.
CREATIVE WORKS-PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP
-
Dawuni, J.J (2024). Is the Law Society of Kenya ready for a woman president? Available at https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/post/is-the-law-society-of-kenya-ready-for-a-woman-president
- Dawuni, J.J. (2023). Women in law and leadership: How Kenya (almost) got it right. Available at https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/post/women-in-law-and-leadership-how-kenya-almost-got-it-right
- Dawuni, J.J. (2023). Women and access to justice in Africa. Women cannot wait another 100 years. Brookings Institute: Foresight Africa. Available at https://www.brookings.edu/articles/women-and-access-to-justice-in-africa-women-cannot-wait-another-100-years/
-
Dawuni J. Jarpa. (2022). Transformation of Ghana’s legal profession. A return to Kwame Nkrumah’s vision? The Conversation. Available at https://theconversation.com/transformation-of-ghanas-legal-profession-a-return-to-kwame-nkrumahs-vision-174921
-
Dawuni J. Jarpa. (2021). The African Court: From the Gender of Politics to the Politics of Gender? Why Women’s Representation on the Bench is not Enough. Available at https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/post/the-african-court-from-the-politics-of-gender-to-the-gender-of-politics
-
Dawuni J. Jarpa. (2020). Open Letter to the African Union: Africa’s Opportunity to Address Gender Diversity at the International Court of Justice. Available https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/post/open-letter-to- the-african-union-africa-s-opportunity-to-address-gender-diversity-at-the-cj
-
Dawuni J. Jarpa. (2020). Disrupting Global Patriarchy: Why Gender Diversity at the International Court of Justice Matters for Africa and the World.
-
Dawuni J. Jarpa. (2020). Gendered Face of COVID-19: Women and Access to Justice. UNODC Judicial Integrity Network. Available at : https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/en/news/2020/04/gendered-face-of- covid19-women-and-access-to-justice.html
-
Dawuni J. Jarpa. (2018). Why More Women on the Supreme Court of Ghana Matters: Open Letter to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Available at: https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com/post/why-more-women-on-the-supreme-court-of-ghana-matters-open-letter-to-president-nana-addo-dankwa-akuf
-
Beyond the Numbers: Gender Parity on the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights – A Lesson for African Regional Courts? (2018). Available at: https://ilg2.org/2018/08/28/beyond-the- numbers-gender-parity-on-the-african-court-on-human-and-peoples-rights-a-lesson-for african- regional-courts/
-
Justice Hub-The Hague. (2018). African women judges serve on international courts due to their personal agency and not tokenism.
-
Dawuni, Josephine. (2016). African Women Judges on International Courts: Symbolic or Substantive Gains? iCourts Working Paper Series, No. 60. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2777972
-
GQUAL Campaign Interview. (2018). Available at http://www.gqualcampaign.org/wp- content/uploads/2018/04/GQUAL-Campaign-Interview_JJD.pdf
-
Wilson Center Women in Public Service Project. (2018). Global Voices in International Law: International Courts and Women Judges. Video
-
Dawuni, J (2017). African Women Judges and Gender Parity on the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. London School of Economics Blog
-
Valuing Diversity in All Forms in International Courts. Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting, 111, 296-299. doi:10.1017/amp.2017.84
-
GQUAL Campaign Interview. (2018). Available at http://www.gqualcampaign.org/wp- content/uploads/2018/04/GQUAL-Campaign-Interview_JJD.pdf
-
Achieving Gender Parity in International Courts and Bodies: Does Diversity Matter? Available: Institute for African Women in Law Blog.
-
African Women Judges and Gender Parity on the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Available at; https://ilg2.org/
-
Vive la Diversité! Roadmap to Gender Parity on African Regional Courts? Feminist Critiques of International Law Symposium Available at: http://voelkerrechtsblog.org/vive-la-diversite/
-
"As straight as an arrow!" Justice Amina Augie’s Journey to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Available at: https://www.africanwomeninlaw.com
-
Race to the top? African women judges and international courts. International Law Girls Blog.
-
The Reality of Women Judges in International Courts. 2016. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-99F7JmlcIk
-
Dawuni, Josephine. (2009.) “The Ghana Women’s Movement and Democratic Changes: Open or Closed Spaces?” Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID). February 24. 2009.
-
Dawuni, Josephine. (2004). TransAfrica Forum: The Globalization Monitor (editor) “Privatization of Water in Africa, Caribbean and Latin America. 2004.Vol 11 Issue 1.
BOOK REVIEWS
- Dawuni, Josephine. (2018). Women’s Activism in Africa. Balghis, Badri and Aili Mari Tripp. Journal of Women, Politics and Policy, 39(4).
- Dawuni, Josephine. (2010). Gender Politics and Democracy in Post-Socialist Europe (review). by Yvonne Galligan, Sara Clavero and Marina Calloni: VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations: Volume 21, Issue 4: 633.
MEDIA APPEARANCE
- Voice of America: Our Voices: International Women’s Day, 2024. Available at https://www.voaafrica.com/a/7519483.html
- Newzroom Afrika. Issues affecting women in South Africa - 66 years after 9 August 1956 March. Available at https://youtu.be/lRMNVgl155s
-
WHUR. March 5, 2021. Women’s History Month, Empowering Black Women. Available at https://whur.com/whur/womens-history-month-empowering-black-women/
-
WHUT: The Journey, a Conversation with Dr. Jarpa Dawuni. Available here: https://youtu.be/tL3u9smK-OI
-
VOA: International Women’s Day- African Women Ascend to Leadership. Available here: https://youtu.be/IXFupVj36pQ
- KAYA FM: South Africa: Women in Law. Available at https://we.tl/t-VtQmMcuJee
- Washington Post: Nov 12, 2020. Howard University Received $ 1 million to establish a Women’s Center. Available here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/howard-university-womens-center/2020/11/12/d21dbba6-246a-11eb-a688-5298ad5d580a_story.html