Thelma Aldana

Thelma Aldana or Thelma Esperanza Aldana Hernández de López (born September 27, 1955), is a Guatemalan lawyer. She became a judge in the Supreme Court in 2009. She was elected president of the Supreme Court from 2011 to 2011. In 2013 she replaced Claudia Paz y Paz as Guatemala’s attorney general.

 Work 
Aldana graduated from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala. She has a Master's degree in Civil and Procedural law (the different types of law).

 Courts for violence against women 
In 2011, when she was president of the Supreme Court, Aldana started special courts in Guatemala for femicide cases. Killing women, and violence against women became a crime in Guatemala. Eleven districts now have the special courts. Judges and police officers receive special gender crime training. Every year there are 56,000 reports of violence against women.

 Against corruption 
In 2015 Aldana led an investigation into government corruption. As a result, the president of Guatemala resigned.

 Awards 
 In 2015 Aldana won the Jaime Brunet Prize for the Promotion of Human Rights from the Public University of Navarra. the prize was for her work for women's rights, against gender violence, and for the rights of the indigenous peoples, as well as against political corruption. The prize was for 36,000 euros.
 In 2016, Aldana received the International Women of Courage Award

 Other websites 

 2016 International Women of Courage Awards, U.S. State Department photostream on Flickr 
 Secretary's International Women of Courage Award (U.S. Department of State)

 References 

Category:Judges
Category:Guatemalan politicians
Category:Guatemalan lawyers
Category:Living people
Category:1955 births
Category:Women who received the International Women of Courage Award