Human Rights graduate Bahija Alvan Aliyeva has won an international scholarship in recognition of her work on sex selection in her native Azerbaijan.

The Conchita Poncini Jimenez International Human Rights Fellowship will allow Bahija to further her work on how reproductive rights for women are misused for the purpose of sex selection and the serious implications it has for the future male to female population ratio.

Her work on the cultural preference for sons could have far-reaching benefits for Azerbaijan and the many other countries where sex selection is practiced.

Bahija, who graduated from Essex with an MA Theory and Practice of Human Rights, is now a lecturer at Baku State University in Azerbaijan.

Speaking of her time at Essex, Bahija said that working with the Human Rights Centre “provided me with the knowledge and skills that help me in my attempts to do something for the people of my country.”

Bahija’s was one of more than 140 applications, from around the world, for the scholarship which is awarded to women activists and scholars who promote and protect the human rights of women and girls.