October 11th – 12th, 2018 Justice for All- Prison Fellowship Ethiopia in collaboration with Southern National Nationalities and Peoples’ Region Supreme Court conducted two days’ workshop to create awareness on women’s legal and human rights. The workshop took place in Hawassa Oasis Hotel.
77 stakeholders out of which 30% women from Loma and Tocha Woredas of Dawro Zone and Hawassa area participated in the workshop. The participants are representatives from the justice sector, health bureau, education bureau, religious institutions, women and children affairs and women’s league.
The objectives of the workshop are to sensitize participants on women’s human rights and the national laws and universal norms regarding these rights, enhancing justice sector capacity to interpret and enforce women’s legal rights, improving legislation to protect women’s legal rights and recognition of the rights of the child within society with a gender perspective.
Ato Mitiku Mekonene, UN Human Rights Commission Legal Advisor, instructed the workshop with discussion topics like: Women’s Human Rights, Constitutional and Civil Rights, Violence Against Women, Domestic Violence, Strategies Against Violence, Women’s Economic Rights and Women and Reproductive Rights.
Participants were given the opportunity to have an in-depth discussion regarding these issues and they reflected on the major challenges they face in terms of addressing gender inequalities as well as violations of women’s rights. “Traditional perspectives still persist within the educated professionals in our society and the very people who are supposed to influence others need to be desensitized themselves” said one participant indicating the much work needed to fully realize women’s human rights.
Finally the Participants developed an action plan which will be implemented within the next three months.
