Lensa Biyena has obtained her degrees in Law and International Gender Studies from Mekelle and Iceland Universities respectively. She is the Executive Director of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA), and one of the founders of the former ‘Enemamar Ethiopia Association’.
The Ethiopian Herald had a short stay with Lensa concerning the activities carried out by EWLA and its successes.
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Herald: Who are the beneficiaries of the service you provide?
Lensa: Beneficiaries of the service are women with multifaceted challenges and difficulties. Women with no or limited financial capability to access legal services; mothers with the burden of taking care of children while having no money to send their children to school, unable to fulfill their children needs, provide roof over their head and buy food and medicines are beneficiaries of the service. Those encounter severe attacks from their partners; girls who have been raped and sexually molested, wedded in childhood, abducted, denied of their property, jobs and means of income. Plus children denied of parents and supports are the beneficiaries.
Herald: How does EWLA’s service benefitted women and children so far?
Lensa: EWLA’s legal assistance has helped to provide women access to demand their legal rights in courts. The impacts of this go beyond the outcome of any court decision.
Through EWLA’s services, women are able to receive maintenance for their children and themselves; children are able to eat, get health care and education; and enjoy the love and care of both parents. Women are able to get their share of common property; get compensation for injuries sustained in the workplace; and able to secure their property. Their economic and social empowerment as a result of the realization of their rights with the help of the legal system is uncontested.
Herald: what are the major achievements registered so far?
Lensa: Since its establishment in 1996, EWLA has been addressing the issue of gender equality, women empowerment and violence against women among many other issues through its three major programs. It has helped women access justice which is crucial to attain gender equality.
Until now, over 200,000 women and double number of children have accessed justice through the legal aid service provided by EWLA. Likewise, it has made successful advocacy works which brought about law reforms on the family and pension laws; and the criminal code. The extensive public education works have helped increase awareness on the rights of women and response mechanisms. Over 80,000 persons have been directly participated in the awareness creation and capacity building workshops and training sessions organized by EWLA and over 5 million people have been reached through awareness creation media programs.
Herald: What are the barriers impeding women from accessing justice?
Lensa: Just to mention few, poverty, not allowed to engage in public matters and to speak out loud, being highly engrossed in care-taking role, lack of information are the major factors. And these factors have forced women to be unassertive, accept violence, injustice, attitudinal problems towards violence against women and women’s position in the community, gender insensitiveness of justice sector organs all also amongst the factors that impede women from accessing justice.
Herald: How do you describe the areas of support you provide for the women?
Lensa: Aiming to make the service accessible to women at grass root level, EWLA has strategically placed 60 legal aid centers across the nation. Of which, 53 centers exist in different zonal and woreda levels in Amhara, Benishangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa, Gambella, Oromia and SNNPs that are accountable to branch offices located in regional capitals.
Considering that justice will be jeopardized for women who cannot access justice sector organs due to lack of finance and information EWLA prepares all litigation papers (suits, responses, appeals, cross-appeals, affidavits) for the women to file at the court.
Counseling, mediation and legal advice are the priority areas that the women are provided with at the association.
Herald: How many members are performing in the association?
Lensa: The legal aid service is provided by 16 employees and 300 hundred volunteers with high commitment and expertise which capacitates them to pinpoint the right solutions for cases handled by them. Those volunteers from other disciplines other than law are intensively trained in law and serve as paralegals in areas where legal professionals are non-existent. The service the volunteers provide under the EWLA hub is priceless to the association but it can also be expressed in monetary as well as time terms which come up to 30,000 hours of free service per year.
Herald: How have you been reaching the public?
Lensa: EWLA has been educating through various media outlets. Awareness over women’s rights shall not target only women but also focuses on strategies that create awareness over the community at large since community awareness helps for prevention of violation of women’s rights. It should be understood that the community can play great roles as duty bearers.
EWLA has a legacy of providing public education on women’s rights and laws on violence against women. The most frequently employed methods of educating the public on these issues include electronic and print media. Berchi Radio Program is one of the known educational radio series that has been going on for years. Other means of educating the public are organizing public education workshops for target groups in different areas, and organizing discussion forums for community members, etc. So far over 80,000 women and men participated in such workshops directly. It is believed that over 8,000,000 people have been reached indirectly through different educational media programs.
The public awareness programs conducted by EWLA are believed to produce a society less tolerant of any gender-based violence perpetrated against women. Women have become assertive and able to take their rights forward.
Herald: Who are you working with?
Lensa: EWLA understands that endeavors for the realization of women’s rights ask for networking and collaborating with stakeholders. Hence EWLA networks with national women’s machineries, law enforcement organs, judiciary, human rights’ institutions and different administrative structures as well as civil society organizations.
Herald: What are the major activities that your association carries out in the overall area of the country?
Lensa: EWLA has sufficient expertise, knowledge and successes in advocacy and campaigning work aimed at securing reform of discriminatory laws like the Civil Code and the Penal Code which directly and indirectly perpetuated violation of women’s rights. The revised Family and Criminal Codes are the results of such effort. The major concerns of EWLA on the repealed Penal Law included issues of explicitly outlawing the practice of FGM, and other HTPs, domestic violence and critically reviewing the provisions relating with rape, abduction and other sexual offences.
The Ethiopian Herald May 27, 2020
BY BETELHEM BEDLU
