Today, the ICJ convened its training on “Women lawyers making a difference through the Legal Profession” in Maseru. Thirty-five women participated in the event.
In many jurisdictions, men invariably dominate the legal profession and there is a necessity to interrogate the reasons for this.
The advancement of women has not been significant despite the fact that there is equality in numbers in enrolment in law schools.
There have been cited challenges and obstacles that have been raised by women lawyers for this lack of advancement, and these needed to be fully explored in order to adopt concrete recommendations to inform an adequate and effective response to the apparent inequalities.
In order to address this issue within the legal profession in Lesotho, the ICJ collaborated with the Judicial Service Commission and the Lesotho Law Society.
The training brought together 35 women including Chief Justice Majara, Judges, Magistrates, Lawyers and Human Rights Activists from Non-Governmental Organisations.
The main objective of the training was to provide a platform for the participants to engage in robust discussions on the systemic obstacles that affect the ascendancy of women to leadership positions and provide them with an opportunity to introspect and come up with plausible innovative solutions and identify opportunities for change.
Further, the training would address the gender gap in the legal profession and also interrogate possible capacity building initiatives for the participants, which will enable them to effectively advance women’s rights through various advocacy techniques.
In addition, the training also sought to provide an opportunity for the Judicial Service Commission and the Lesotho Law Society for dialogue on improving the situation of women in the legal profession, as well as contributing to the promotion and protection of women’s rights and access to justice.
