Dorla Bowman

Dorla Bowman (born ) is a Belizean human rights activist. She has campaigned for women's rights and gender equality in Belize, in addition to advocating for the support, practically and legally, for people who have experienced domestic abuse.

Biography Bowman was born and raised in Belize City. In 1982, she replaced Zee Edgell as the director of the Women's Bureau, a United Nations-funded government service within the Ministry of Social Services aimed at improving the outcomes for Belizean women. She also served for a time as a member of Belize City Council.

Later in the 1980s, Bowman left the Belizean government and created and served as the director of the non-governmental organisation Women Against Violence (WAV). Bowman was inspired to establish WAV following a series of public meetings held in King's Park, an affluent area of Belize City, in which concerns were shared about a "violence epidemic" in poorer areas of the city. Through WAV, Bowman supported the drafting of various legislative proposals, including a Sexual Offences Bill in 1988 and a Sexual Harassment Act in the early 1990s. Between 1991 and 1992, Bowman and WAV lobbied for the Domestic Violence Act, which had been drafted by Lisa Shoman and Dolores Balderamos-García. The Domestic Violence Act was eventually passed in 1992 with unanimous government support.

Bowman also founded the Belize Women's Political Caucus to increase the election of women to positions of national decision and policy making. In 2020, Bowman co-authored Woman! Know Your Rights!, a book that aimed to educate Belizean people about domestic violence laws through a play. In June 2024, the Building People Movement hosted a forum at the University of the West Indies in Belize City on domestic abuse support, supported by the US embassy and the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

In 2025, Bowman was among 14 Belizean women recognised at the 20th Annual Outstanding Women's Award Ceremony held by the National Women's Commission, in the field of human rights and violence against women.