Abstract
The enactment of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act in 1919 tore down a significant gender barrier and opened doors of the once exclusively male legal profession in the United Kingdom. This article focuses on its early beneficiaries in Burma, a less studied colony of the Empire in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It traces the first four women barristers from colonial Burma, and their odyssey to gain tradecraft and skills through seeking legal education at the Inns of Court in London. It evaluates their performances at the Bar Examination and explores the challenges they faced as they beat a path into the traditionally male-dominated legal profession. Finally, the paper shows how these pioneering women barristers were able to utilise the fruits of their legal education to further the cause of promoting gender equality upon their return to Burma. However, their professional success also reveals the persistence of gender and racial hierarchies across the Empire despite ongoing legal reformation and political activism, as they were subjected to confrontations and discriminations throughout their career.
Highlights
The paper shows how these pioneering women barristers were able to utilise the fruits of their legal education to further the cause of promoting gender equality upon their return to Burma
Women only attained the right to join the legal profession on equal footing with men when the UK Parliament legislatively eliminated sex discrimination for the admission in the legal profession by the celebrated Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919.2 Years of fierce fighting waged by some fearless British women had brought about an unprecedented opportunity for women to become full-fledged members of the legal profession.[3]
By 1935, four women from British Burma had blazed a trail in seeking legal education in London and returned home, each bearing the coveted title of barrister at law
Summary
LI CHEN is an Associate Professor at Fudan University Law School, China. Prior to joining Fudan, he was a visiting assistant professor at Washington University School of Law and an adjunct assistant professor at National University Singapore Faculty of Law. YI LI is a Lecturer in East and South East Asian History, Aberystwyth University, UK. YI LI is a Lecturer in East and South East Asian History, Aberystwyth University, UK She received her Ph.D. from SOAS, University of London in 2012 for her study on the Chinese migrant community in British Burma. Between 2013 and 2015 she held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
