By the end of August 2016, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) concluded two training courses for young lawyers in the Family Law to help them practice the profession before Shari’a courts. The two courses were attended by 76 female and male lawyers. The first training was held at PCHR’s office in the northern Gaza Strip between 7-11 August 2016, in which 29 lawyers participated from the northern Gaza Strip. The second training was held at PCHR’s office in Khan Yunis between 28 August – 01 September 2016, in which 47 lawyers participated from Khan Yunis and Rafah.

The training program addressed a number of topics: Sharia Procedural Law, Inheritance Law, Family Law, enforcement of law, Lawyers’ behavior guidelines, rulings and cases, and Justice Judgments’ Journal. All of these topics were covered throughout 5 consecutive days in 30 training hours.

The training was facilitated by a specialized team from PCHR: Mrs. Hanan Matter, Mr. Samir Hassaniya, and Mrs. Samah Ashour, all from PCHR’s Women’s Unit; in addition to Judges Said Abu al-Jabeen, Salah Hashish, Ahmed al-Buheisi, Ibrahim al-Najjar, Zakariya al-Nadeem and Omer Nofal.

At the end of each course, PCHR held a concluding ceremony, where the participants received certificates. The participants praised PCHR’s distinctive role in disseminating the culture of human rights and rule of law among young lawyers. Moreover, they emphasized that the course was characterized by its rich topics that would professionally enrich them in a way that would help to pass the exam on practicing before Sharia Courts in the Gaza Strip, easily understand the Family Law and positively affect women’s conditions. In addition, they appreciated the efficiency of the trainers and their use of diverse and interactive training methods. They added that active participation and discussion during the training sessions had enriched the course.

It should be noted that PCHR is the first human rights organization in Palestine to hold such courses. In addition, PCHR has accumulated experience and deep knowledge over the long years of work in the field of Family Law and litigation before Sharia’ Courts to defend women, who are victims of violence