Meet Professor Geeta Tewari, The Founder of Narrative Justice Project

Meet Delaware Law Professor Geeta Tewari, the founder and visionary behind Narrative Justice Project–the non-profit focused on the value of stories---poems, short stories, novels, creative essays, oral histories—and how these narratives connect to and impact pressing issues in law, business, and policy.  In an enlightening conversation, Professor Tewari shares her motivations and hopes for the Project. Professor Tewari holds a law degree from Fordham Law School, a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia School of the Arts, and has practiced for numerous years as a public interest attorney.

What is the purpose of the Narrative Justice Project?

My hope with the Narrative Justice Project is to create a space where we can look at the work that people have achieved and the story behind their work. Whether it be a book that someone has recently published or a poem that they wrote about an experience or hardship they’ve sought to overcome, this Project is a space where we can read and understand that work, and how it relates to moving forward as a society.

When something is weighing on me, I write about it—sometimes in the form of an article, like the article I co-authored regarding the importance of gender quality on corporate boards, but also, in the form of a poem or story. Postpartum, for example, which I published in Granta Magazine, is about the depression and other stressors many women face regarding work and professionalism after giving birth.

What inspired you to create this project?

When I went back to school, after practicing law for seven years, I immersed myself in the study of literature. Studying literature, I became fascinated with the intersection of art and justice. I exposed myself to work by artists in different genres—flash fiction, poetry, memoir—and found that artists’ work in each of these genres could be utilized to humanize the changes in law and policy we seek to make, such as the advancement of women’s rights.

There is a poetry collection by Terrence Hayes called American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin and in this collection, he writes about experiences within the African American community. I've cited Hayes’ work in different law panels that I've organized. Reading and sharing work like this inspired me to create a space where we can read and discuss creative work, and individual stories, and how they relate to law and policy.

You were a practicing lawyer for close to a decade. How has your experience as a practitioner of law influenced your passion for the intersection of narrative and justice?

In 2018, I began working as the director of a research center, the Urban Law Center, which focuses on the intersection of cities and law. I found myself drawn to the connection between the stories I had read in my MFA program and the stories on issues affecting cities such as transportation, immigration, environment, and gender equity. Seeing the intersection between what I had studied in my creative arts program and what I encountered at work inspired me to create a virtual space where a community can share the connections between narrative and justice.

I think that narrative is important in understanding why we create law and policy in a certain way. If we're better able to understand why different community members desire different policies or outcomes, we are better able to negotiate contracts, render judicial opinions, or draft fair and equitable legislation.

A focus of the Narrative Justice Project is the advancement of women in leadership. Why did you make that your focus?

According to the United Nations, two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population are women, 60% of the world’s chronically hungry are women, and the majority of global businesses are still led by men, all despite that 50% of the world’s population is women. All of this is true, but right now it is simply data.

With a story, such as the story of Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo’s first female CEO, or Chimamada Ngozi Adichi, novelist and author of We Should All Be Feminist, the data becomes more valuable, and we are better able to understand the urgency for change.

I would like to focus on the advancement of women by looking at narratives in the space of gender equity and women's rights: understanding and appreciating different stories that can help us move forward.

Oftentimes, when we think about women in leadership, people may think of women in corporate or political leadership. But I see the term “women in leadership” to include women in all fields. Whether it be in the space of literature, philosophy, or politics, or business, law, or science, there are women who are leading and I would like to celebrate the work that they have done, especially their stories about how they became who they are today.

For many women, even a question as seemingly simple as ‘What’s your name?’ can be difficult to answer because of all of the changes we’ve experienced in life, and the determination to keep moving forward.

My goal is for the stories shared here to advance law and policy through understanding some of the hurdles people may have faced in their career paths. We can use narrative as a tool to create policies that are more friendly to women and allow greater access to mentorship and movement within a sector or across sectors.

Five years down the line, where do you hope to take the Narrative Justice Project? What will be its impact?

Currently, we're working together to build a space on the website that can celebrate women in leadership, and the challenges that they may have overcome. We wish for this space to inspire others to move forward in their careers as well.