Ref: 37/2011

The Palestinian Centre for human Rights’ (PCHR) Women’s Rights Unit
concluded the “Legal Awareness and Consultation” project which the Unit
implemented over the past two years in cooperation with the Welfare Association,
with the aim to qualify a number of young female lawyers to litigate before Sharia’
courts.  On this occasion, the PCHR’s
Women’s Rights Unit organized a closing ceremony on Thursday, 03 June 2011, at
PCHR’s head office in Gaza City with Ms. Maha Shawa, Director of the Welfare
Association in Gaza, and Ms. Maha Muheisen and Mr. Eyad al-Balawi in presence.

Muna Shawa, Director of PCHR’s Women’s Rights Unit, welcomed PCHR’s
partners from the Welfare Association, and stressed that the “Legal Awareness
and Consultation” project is one of the most important and successful projects
PCHR’s Women’s Rights Unit has ever implemented.  She explained that this project has become a
strategic goal for the Unit to achieve via providing training services to young
female lawyers and qualifying them to litigate before Sharia’ courts and
to defend women and women’s rights.  Shawa
also thanked the Welfare Association for supporting the project and for the
cooperation they offered during the implementation of the project.

Ms. Maha Shawa, Director of the Welfare Association in Gaza,
thanked PCHR and praised the partnership experience with PCHR during the
implementation of the project.  She
stressed the importance of the project and the achieved results.

Mrs. Nadia Abu Nahla, Member of PCHR’s Board of Directors,
explained that the conclusion of the project is indeed the start of real work,
adding that the graduation of female lawyers who are able to defend women’s
rights and who believe in the importance of achieving equality and justice for
women is a pressing social need which was met by the project and by graduating
a number of female lawyers who are qualified to play this role.  Abu Nahla appreciated the role played by the
Welfare Association which supports this kind of projects that can contribute to
enforcing women’s rights.

Alia al-Gharbi, one of the female lawyers who benefited from the
project, talked on behalf of her colleagues who benefited from the
project. She thanked PCHR and the
Welfare Association for giving the opportunity to her and to her colleagues to
receive training at PCHR’s Women’s Rights Unit and to acquire experience
through working in Sharia’ courts and defending women’s rights.

In cooperation with the Welfare Association, PCHR’s Women’s Rights
Unit started, in June 2009, the “Legal Awareness and Consultation” project
which was completed in June 2011.  During
this project, 8 young female lawyers received training on litigation before Sharia’
courts and on defending women’s rights and connecting these rights to human
rights issues.  The project also included
the organization of a number of lectures on legal awareness in participation
with the beneficiary lawyers.