Maria Nikolova is a lawyer specializing in women’s rights. As a doctoral candidate in the Department of Law & Anthropology, Nikolova is conducting research on criminal trials stemming from disputes in customary marriages among the Romani people in Bulgaria. The investigation is centred on Romani litigants’ own representations of their core complaints before the formal authorities. The study examines how the courts ‘make sense’ of the background story and ‘translate’ it into specific criminal charges.

Nikolova is also a contributor to the CUREDI legal database project (a database of European laws touching upon cultural and religious diversity), in which capacity she applies her expertise specifically to cases related to Roma and sexual violence.