WLP partner organizations and affiliated civil-society groups from 11 countries are holding workshops on family law reform throughout early 2017. The content of these trainings is based on research from case studies commissioned for WLP’s new global initiative, Family Law Reform to Challenge Gender-based Violence. This campaign builds on over a decade of WLP’s work on this issue, and is being carried out with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada.
The workshops are being conducted in Brazil, Egypt, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, Senegal, Turkey, and the United States (for the workshop on Iran). Participants will examine and discuss the findings from their respective country’s case study, develop initial strategies and messaging for the upcoming global advocacy campaign on family law reform, and identify preliminary policy recommendations for reform efforts. Attendees include a mix of policymakers, lawyers, scholars, activists, media allies, and representatives from sister organizations with expertise in the fields of family law and grassroots activism.
WLP partner organizations are instrumental in applying insights from the workshops toward advocacy efforts in their societies. “Despite Jordan’s achievements in reforming family-related laws, there are still a number of impediments that hinder women’s ability to participate in all aspects of life and reach jobs at the decision-making level,” said Asma Khader, CEO of WLP Jordan partner SIGI/J. “The main priority for Jordan’s activists is to use a window of opportunity that is happening now at the legislative level… by developing a concrete legal proposal for the reform of the Family Laws.”
Other components of WLP’s Family Law Reform initiative include the production of a documentary film and the collection of family laws and resources into an online database that can be used for future research and activism.