Pavithra Rajendran

JSD Student

Home Country: Sri Lanka
Cohort: Fall 2023

Pavithra Rajendran is an academician, a multi-faceted feminist, and a first-generation lawyer. Pavithra completed her LL.B with second class at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She passed her final year at Sri Lanka Law College with second class and became an Attorney at the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. She holds an LL.M. degree from the University of Colombo, concentrating on Criminal Justice, Constitutional Law and Gender Justice, and Women’s Rights Law. Her LL.M. dissertation focused on proposing a rights-based approach to the criminal law of Sri Lanka. After receiving the Fulbright Award, Pavithra completed her second LL.M. in International Human Rights Law (Cum laude) at the University of Notre Dame. Her drafted thesis titled “Human Rights Infringements in the Name of ‘Culture’: Gender Stereotypical Malpractices of Sri Lanka – A Comparative Study with South Africa” won Percy Buchanan Graduate Prize in 72nd Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs. She also completed the Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education at the Staff Development Center of the University of Colombo.