By Sujata Jena

Bhubaneswar, April 16, 2020: “How can you be a nun and a lawyer?” people often ask lawyer-nuns. Some consider it a joke while others take it as an ordinary query to respond.

Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church’s mission has been evolved according to the needs of the time. Religious communities that carried out the same profession for life, began to adopt the requirement of a place, people and focus.

Sister Clara D’Souza, a member of the indigenous Handmaids of Mary (HM) congregation of Odisha, eastern India, says she took up legal profession since it is a vocation found in Sacred Scripture, the teaching of the church leaders and the insights of religious writers on the call Christian vocation.

The 42-year-old nun belongs to the Snehadeepti province, based in Jharsuguda, western Odisha. She is the first member of her congregation to practice in the Orissa High Court at Cuttack after completing her law degree in 2018.

She studied law while she was the secretary to the provincial and being the superior of the provincial community in Jharsuguda.

Sacred Hearts Sister Sujata Jena interviewed Sister D’Souza for Matters India. Excerpts:

Please introduce yourself.

I hail from Mother of God Church, Mogarnad, in Mangalore [a port city in the southern Indian Karnataka state.]

After my final vows, I have served in formation, teaching, community animation, and leadership service in different communities of my province.

After my term as the secretary to the provincial, I worked as a volunteer in the Delhi-based Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), a collective of Indian lawyers and social activists who provide legal support to the vulnerable and disadvantaged sections of society. Now, I am an advocate in the High Court of Odisha and a staff of HRLN.

Why did you study law? What motivated you to take up it?

First of all, it is an opportunity given to me by my province. I am grateful for it. I had a passion to work for justice especially to fight for the rights of the poor. I was fascinated by the words of Isaiah, “Learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, and please the widow’s cause” (Isaiah 1:17).

I was inspired by the words of Jesus found in Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

In my childhood, I learned from my father, the value of justice and the importance of fighting for the rights of the marginalized. He was a self-made leader.

Whenever any injustice was meted out to anybody in the neighborhood, he spoke for their rights.

This altogether worked out for creating a desire in me to work for the rights of people especially the poor and the oppressed of society.

This call of mine is nurtured by my religious institution who gave me this opportunity in the light of the mind of our founder Jesuit Father Edmund Albert Harrison. It is to work for the rights of people on the margins.

What are some important and interesting cases you have handled so far?

I have fought for the rights of bonded laborers in Odisha, the eviction of slum dwellers, persons with a disability, Forest Rights, and domestic violence.

Is your identity as a Catholic nun a help or a hindrance in your legal profession?
Not at all. Frankly speaking, when you are with the victims and they are convinced that you would work for their good. They consider that you are one of them.

In the court, no one is bothered who you are. So far no one has asked me regarding my religious status. I believe being a nun gives me an upper hand than others in perusing cases of poor people who are unable to get justice otherwise.

How do other lawyers, mostly men treat you? Have you faced any problems?

I have not come across degrading treatment from anyone. Senior advocates are ready to help when approached or sought help at any time.

Who are the people you are helping to get justice?

I am working for the rights of bonded laborers, slum dwellers, and persons with a disability, Tribals, Dalits, Other Backward Classes, and women.

I have worked as a volunteer with Majlis Legal Centre, Mumbai, which is a forum for women’s rights discourse and legal initiatives. They are a group of women lawyers and social activists committed to the cause of women and children. Thereafter, I worked as a volunteer with HRLN and I am a staff of HRLN, Odisha.

What aspect of being an advocate interest you the most?

The aspect of being the strength of the people to fight for their rights lifts my daily spirit.

How does your legal profession help you live your religious commitment?

Religious life is built on the life and teachings of Jesus. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is based on gospel values. And being a human rights activist providing legal support especially to poor women and children, when their human rights are infringed is living out life as Jesus lived.

Are you happy with the efforts of the Church and religious institutions for social justice?

The Church can play a greater role in the field of social justice with the given richness of both human and material resources.

Do you recommend other religious to join legal profession?

Certainly yes. I realize that Religious life is an unmerited gift. As we receive immeasurably, we are invited to give without counting. We are educated, well informed and equipped. The poor, Dalit and tribal, and women are ignorant of their rights, and entitlements. They are unaware of how police, court, and law function. Above all, they are scared of the cumbersome justice system.

The religious are to give ourselves fully to the cause so ‘that they shall have life, life in all its fullness’ as the partakers of building up God’s kingdom of justice and peace.

I strive to be a person who has full of life with Jesus and bring life to all people and be a blessing to all.