Guo Jianmei (b,1960) China's First Public Interest lawyer

Gua was born in a family of peasants in the impoverished region of Hua County, Henan Province in China. Seeing the poverty, underdevelopment in her village and the violation to her own grandmothers was the stimulus for her lifelong dedication to improving the rights of women .

Aged 18 she attended law school at Peking University, graduating in 1983.
She worked at the Ministry of Justice, All China Federation for Women, The All China Association of Lawyers.*

In 1995 she attended the Fourth International Forum for Women Lawyers and the United Nations International World Conference on Women in Beijing.
Her intension was to observe and interview members, she left an activist.

She, with others, founded the Beijing University Law School Women’s Legal Research and Services Centre, also in 1995. It was the first non-profit- making non-government organization specializing in women’s legal aid in China. It grew to become an influential force in safeguarding the rights and interests of women.

2010 Beijing University disassociated itself from the centre.

2016 Chinese government ordered it to be shut down.

Despite this Guo continues her work as first public interest lawyer fighting full-time on the front lines to protect women’s rights.

In 2019 Gua was awarded Right Livelihood Award for her pioneering and persistent work in securing women’s rights in China.

Sources used
Wikipedia
RISE:Extraordinary Women of Colour Who Changed the World by Maliha Abidi