Lawyers Association: Women get moving!

The aim of the workshop was to bring together female lawyers working in the government, judiciary and the private practice to improve their understanding of the 2009 Southern Sudan Referendum Act, which provides the legal basis for the Southern Sudan referendum in January next year.The workshop also focused on referendum gender issues. Mrs. Afaf Ismail Ibrahim, Chairlady of Southern Sudan Women Lawyers Association explained, “another objective was to identify the role female lawyers could play during the referendum. This role includes supporting other women during and after the referendum and sharing experiences on the lessons learnt by female lawyers from others African countries, which have conducted referenda.” “To develop an action plan and recommendations on the way forward for successful referendum needs a networking line for the Southern women lawyers”, she added. Mrs. Ajonye Perpectua Paya, Minister of Legal Affairs and Law Enforcement in Central Equatoria State said: “The Southern Sudanese Women Lawyers Association should be respected by all the Government Institutions in order to ensure community justice. The Minister encourages the women lawyers to promote women’s rights across society and to ensure women are represented within all rule of law bodies.She said, “we need to focus much on how to capture all the violations of women’s rights in the ten States of Southern Sudan”. Mrs. Ajonye Perpectua Paya as well added that it is crucial to empower women living under constant threat to get beyond their fear. This empowerment will make them able to reach out to other women all through Southern Sudan.