Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) has been providing consultation services free of charge for many women in the country, particularly in counseling and sharing information related to women rights, as well as providing loan and saving services among others.
Messaye Alemayehu is one of the beneficials from the Association during the past four years in related to consultancy services, knowledge and information exchange, and loan and savings among others.
According to Messaye, civil society organizations like EWLA have significant role in community services; especially when citizens become worried about payments to get different services. For example, someone may be asked to pay more than 300 birr for law consultants who are supposed to write application letter to justice office and the like. Thus, many people usually do not go to the lawyers since they are not able to pay the requested amount of money to get the service.
In fact, civil society organizations are now providing such services free of charge; they also advise citizen and provide training to create awareness and empower them with adequate knowledge and skills.
As to her, many people still do not know these opportunities which have been provided by civil society organizations in Ethiopia. Hence, these organizations should create awareness among the society as well as promote their roles and responsibilities that focus on women empowerment.
Indeed, promoting the cultural values of helping each other is one of the unique features of the Ethiopian people for long period of time. Likewise, civil society organizations were also established to enhance the long lasting social interest to live together in harmony and peace.
Executive Director at Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), Lensa Biyena told The Ethiopian Herald that the Association began its work in 1996 that focused on three major issues namely, provision of free legal aid service to women, female, and children, in terms of public education and capacity building as well as research and law reform advocacy that could promote the economic, political, social and legal rights of women.
On the other hand, EWLA has six branches in Adama, Assosa, Bahir Dar, Diredawa, Gambella and Hawassa which are strategic places to raise awareness among the society. These branches have 53 skilled voluntary committee organized at worda and zonal level that would bring sustainable change from the grassroots while the association runs 60 legal aid centers in Ethiopia. It has also 16 employees and 300 volunteers are actively engaged in issues related to solving identified problems that happened where legal professionals do not exist.
According to the Executive Director, EWLA has been addressing the issue of gender equality, women empowerment and violence against women among others. In this regard, over 200,000 women and large number of children have been accessed justice through the provided aid legal services. It has been also working on awareness creation over the family law, pension law and the criminal code.
Particularly, more than 80,000 people are actively participated in the awareness creation event that has been organized by EWLA while over 5 million citizens have benefited from such cooperative works, she noted.
However, women and children are highly affected through various reasons during the past many years. In this aspect, lack of adequate information, poverty, attitudinal problem, and the like are serious challenges which are hindering to access justice to women.
On the other hand, the association has been providing trainings, sand organizing seminars and workshops for law enforcement bodies like police so as to realize women empowerment through capacity building trainings and various experience sharing platforms.
Such efforts have been playing decisive role to empower women and children who should know their right related to legal matter. To that end, EWLA is working with stakeholders such as Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the Federal Supreme Court, regional women’s affairs offices, Ministry of Justice, Network of Ethiopian Women Associations, and Association for Women’s Sanctuary and Development (shelter for female victims) among others, Linsa elaborated.
The Ethiopian Herald March 11/2020
BY MESERET BEHAILU
