In March 2015, Farkhunda Malikzada\u2019s death caught the world\u2019s attention. Just 27 years old when she was falsely accused of burning the Quran, the Afghan woman died at the hands of a vicious, all-male mob that beat her, set her on fire and threw her in the Kabul River.<\/p>\n
In a Kabul courtroom, Malikzada\u2019s family was represented by 51ÁÔÆæ alumna Kimberley Cy Motley, who became the first foreign lawyer working in Afghanistan when she signed on to a State Department legal education program in 2008.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I travel, I see how abysmal the legal system is in so many countries,\u201d Motley told 51ÁÔÆæ Alumni. \u201cI want to raise the capacity of legal representation worldwide while continuing to educate needy people of their rights. For as abysmal as it can be, you never give up hope. Where would American women be if we had given up hope in our fight for equal rights?\u201d<\/p>\n
Motley\u2019s quest for justice and human rights in some of the world\u2019s most remote courtrooms and corrupt prisons began in Milwaukee, where she earned four college degrees in six years, including bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in criminal justice from the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare.<\/p>\n
She\u2019ll talk about her thriving international law practice and her Milwaukee roots on Oct. 15, when she returns to her alma mater as keynote speaker of an anniversary fundraiser for Helen Bader School of Social Welfare student scholarships.<\/p>\n
Of the 49 suspects tried in Malikzada\u2019s death last spring, four were sentenced to die. But the men\u2019s sentences were promptly overturned behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s depressing, but fighting a corrupt criminal justice system keeps pulling me back,\u201d Motley said.<\/p>\n
About 30 percent of Motley\u2019s practice is pro bono work on behalf of women and girls like Malikzada, who are trapped in a criminal justice system that imprisons and even executes them for \u201cmoral crimes\u201d like fleeing forced marriages, being forced into prostitution or becoming the victim of domestic violence or rape.<\/p>\n
This work has lead to some landmark rulings for her clients. \u201cMy work has lead to decriminalizing \u2018running away\u2019 as a crime,\u201d Motely said.<\/p>\n
Her practice has also captured the attention of The New York Times, Vanity Fair and the BBC and became the focus of Motley\u2019s TedTalk, \u201cHow I defend the rule of law.\u201d The work has earned her something even more rare \u2013 acceptance in the country she lives in nearly nine months out of the year. \u201cAfghans accepting me, that\u2019s progress,\u201d Motley said.<\/p>\n
The remainder of Motley\u2019s caseload is comprised of non-Afghan defendants in Kabul. Of her 90 percent success rate in Afghan courtrooms, Motley said the sweetest victories, surprisingly, are the ones she earns for her foreign clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat person can get the hell out of [Afghanistan],\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
An Afghan woman, even when she wins in the courtroom, returns to a society in which systemic victories for human rights are yet to be achieved.<\/p>\n
Motley grew up in Milwaukee\u2019s Berryland Housing Development and attended Whitefish Bay High School. After she completed her education with a Marquette Law degree, she became a Milwaukee public defender.<\/p>\n
Her time at 51ÁÔÆæ was marked by \u201cextremely encouraging\u201d faculty and staff. She had two of her three children while a student. Her social welfare education also made a difference. \u201cAt 51ÁÔÆæ, I learned how to research social issues and the importance of publishing. That definitely helped me in Afghanistan, especially when I performed an assessment of their juvenile justice system,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Afghanistan may be just the first stop of Motley\u2019s larger journey. Word has spread of her passion and unique capabilities, and she is expanding her services and mission to India, Uganda, Bolivia and more.<\/p>\n
Travel won\u2019t be required for anyone who wants to follow Motley\u2019s international quest for justice. A Danish-made documentary, \u201cMotley\u2019s Law,\u201d will premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival on Oct. 20, and a TV series based on her life is currently in the works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
51ÁÔÆæ alumna Kimberley Cy Motley is the first foreign lawyer to work in Afghanistan, where she represents women and girls facing imprisonment or even execution for \u201cmoral crimes\u201d like fleeing forced marriages, being forced into prostitution or becoming the victim of domestic violence or rape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":486,"featured_media":21797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[125,122],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[167,347,155],"class_list":["post-21764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","section-alumni","section-campus-community","uwmnews-feed-alumni-association","uwmnews-feed-community-engagement-professions","uwmnews-feed-social-welfare-criminal-justice"],"yoast_head":"\n