Maria da Penha

Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes (Brazilian Portuguese: [maˈɾi.ɐ dɐ ˈpẽɲɐ]; born 1 February 1945) is a Brazilian biopharmacist and women human rights defender. She advocates for women rights, particularly against domestic violence. Born in 1945 in Fortaleza, in the Brazilian state of Ceará, Maria da Penha was a victim of domestic violence by her husband.

She brought a case against her attacker to be condemned, first in the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil and later in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. On August 7, 2006, the president of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva put the Federal Brazilian Law 11340 into practice.

Now known as the "Maria da Penha Law", it increased the severity of punishment for domestic violence against women, whenever it occurred in a domestic or family environment. In cities with 60,000 people or more, domestic violence courts and shelters for women were established. Penha says, "The problem is not the law but in its application. Unfortunately, these instruments exist only in big cities."