Guo Jianmei received her worst birthday present when she turned 50 in late March - the news about Peking University's decision to close its Centre for Women's Law Studies and Legal Services. The NGO, which she co-founded 15 years ago, is one of the most prominent on the mainland. Guo, a lawyer and part-time associate law professor, talks about what NGO work means to her and how she has come to terms with the university's decision to cut ties with the rights advocacy group.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was an assistant to the editor-in-chief of China Law magazine in 1995 when I was sent to cover the World Women's Federation meeting in Beijing in September. I was overwhelmed by the volunteerism at the meeting and a parallel gathering of women's NGOs. I was struck by the compassion, vigour, challenges and social responsibility in NGO work. Three months later, when I was about to be promoted to deputy editor-in-chief at the magazine, I quit the job and launched the women's legal aid centre.
What has the centre done so far?
Over the past decade or so, we have handled nearly 3,000 pro bono cases benefiting tens of thousands of women from disadvantaged groups.
We were among the first to arrive in Badong, Hubei, to provide legal assistance to Deng Yujiao, a hotel masseuse who stabbed to death a county official trying to rape her in May last year. Lately we have been hosting workshops in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation to draw up law revision proposals for better legal protection for the growing number of maids on the mainland, who are increasingly susceptible to right abuses.