KU News Release

Graduation stories: Arab-American law student advocates for women’s rights

Jomana Jihad Qaddour

LAWRENCE — As an Arab-American, Jomana Jihad Qaddour of Overland Park has found herself advocating for women’s rights and religious freedom since she was a student at Olathe East High School. On May 17, she will receive a law degree with a certificate in international trade and finance from the University of Kansas.

Qaddour says she hopes the combination of her heritage and her education will help her to connect Arab, Muslim and U.S. community interests.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in human biology and international studies at KU in 2006. With a law degree, she plans to extend her advocacy efforts to work with the legal and economic development of Syria, her homeland. She has applied for a Fulbright grant and is employed with Stinson, Morrison and Hecker law offices in Kansas City, Mo.

At KU, she initiated a 2007 human rights symposium that was offered again in 2008. She is outgoing president of the Muslim Law Student Association and former vice president of the International Law Society at KU. This spring, she received an National Association of Women Lawyers’ Outstanding Student Award.

Qaddour’s advocacy began in high school. She participated in interfaith forums and wrote articles on improving Arab, Muslim and American relations. Last summer as an intern at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights in Washington, D.C., she produced a report on voting rights and democratic freedoms for Sudan’s 2009 elections. While in Washington, Qaddour participated in the Muslim Public Service Network. While an undergraduate she was also a student assistant to KU political scientists Phil Schrodt and the late Deborah Gerner in their research of human rights. As a law student, Qaddour has worked as a research assistant to Raj Bhala, Rice Distinguished Professor, who is preparing a manuscript on “Understanding Islamic Law.” She has also worked as an assistant for John Head, KU law professor. She is daughter of Jihad and Rouydah Qaddour of Overland Park.

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