Women Lawyers Association has held a legal clinic in Mchinji on elimination of child marriages and gender-based violence.
President of WLA, Chisomo Nyemba, said WLA is conducting legal clinics in hard-to-reach areas country-wide to ensure that communities are sensitised about the law and their rights.
Counsel Nyemba said the women lawyers are implementing the project with funding from the Clooney Foundation for Justice, founded by leading international human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney and her husband, renowned actor George Clooney, who has starred in many movies including Batman.
“The clinics seek to raise awareness on human rights and to offer free legal services as lawyers from WLA also hold one-on-one private consultations with members of the community for free.
“This occasion here in Mchinii is a special one as our funder Amal Clooney has an opportunity to interact with communities,” said the President of WLA, Nyemba.
Chisomo Nyemba, President of WLA
A 2019 UNICEF Report titled: “Access to Criminal Justice Services: The Case of Survivors of Sexual Violence in Malawi” established that out of 138 survivors of human rights abuse there were only 42 survivors who obtained legal information regarding their rights. The report also indicated that out of 138 survivors, there were only two survivors who had prior notions of basic rights and a basic understanding of basic Criminal Justice System procedures hence the women’s lawyers’ drive to sensitize communities.
Pictures: Amal Clooney addressing community members and Chikondi Chijozi interpreting, President of WLA, Chisomo Nyemba, interacting with the women in Mchinji.
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