Joaninne Nanyange and Monica Athieno are two women in Uganda who dream of becoming lawyers. Nanyange grew up an orphan and hopes to become a human rights activist for women and children. Athieno, the daughter of a struggling market vendor, wants to be a judge who ensures that suspects are treated fairly and the rule of law prevails in her country.

But in Uganda, where more than 45 percent of women over the age of 25 have no schooling at all, and men are more than twice as likely as women to have access to higher education—reaching their dreams hasn’t been easy.

Ms. JD, founded at Stanford Law School in 2006 by students from law schools around the country, aims to make a difference. A nonprofit organization dedicated to the success of women in the legal profession, Ms. JD has launched a Global Education Fund to support higher education worldwide for women who hope to become lawyers. The new program was launched in Uganda in partnership with the Gender Mainstreaming Division at Makerere University. The fund will offer scholarships to women who want to become lawyers and who, without assistance, would not be able to obtain a legal education. Nanyange and Athieno, the 2010-2011 Ms. JD International Scholars, were selected based on educational achievements, financial need, and leadership potential.

“Helping women gain access to the legal profession in their home countries is, we believe, an effective and efficient way to build a better world,” says Elizabeth Pederson ’07, who is serving on the current board of directors with fellow Stanford Law alumnus Keisha Stanford ’10. Pederson adds that she hopes the group will expand the program to other countries in the near future.

For more information visit ms-jd.org.