The story of our name

Why did we choose to call ourselves Cornelians?

Cornelia means ‘strong willed’ and ‘wise’, the two qualities that women have historically been considered to be devoid of. At least, that’s what the greatest men have believed. We are here to tell you otherwise, to become the voices for unheard stories and narratives of a female. Loud and clear!

Our journey began in June 2021 as a students-only club that worked at the intersection of law and gender. What better name could do justice to such a purpose than that of Cornelia Sorabji. As a tribute to the lady who chose to go out of the box and become the first ever woman to practise law in India, we named our club as Cornelia!

When we decided to further our mission, and chose to step ahead in the direction as a non-governmental organisation, we could not help but go back to the name. And as you might have it, we found our purpose in it; our purpose to define women as they should be- ‘strong willed’ and ‘wise’. Sorabji, in her times, campaigned for rights of women from all spheres. The modern Cornelia stands for the same.