District Women Lawyers Support Group Formed

In a landmark development, WWOP has successfully established ‘District Women Lawyers Support Group’ (DWSG) at Central Bar Association (CBA), Muzaffarabad.

DWSG is composed of women lawyers who have agreed to provide voluntary legal assistance to women victims of violence. It is the first voluntary initiative of its kind in the region, which is focused on providing necessary legal assistance to poor women, in need of justice. WWOP would facilitate the CBA in establishing two kiosks for legal assistance to women victims of violence.

A meeting was held in this regard on 20 January 2016 at the offices of CBA to discuss the structure, responsibilities and challenges of this initiative. It was attended by women lawyers, members of CBA, representatives from line departments and civil society activists.

Participants of the meeting highly appreciated this initiative from WWOP, terming it as a milestone in improving conditions of local women living in fear and violence, only because of lack of resources and understanding to legal services.

Building upon the commitments, several positive announcements were made at the meeting. The Director of Women Development Department, AJK announced that women in need of protection due to crimes committed against her, may get shelter and accommodation at designated premises, being managed by the department.

Showing solidarity with this initiative, representative from the ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir Rural Support Program’ (AJKRSP) offered teams of expert social mobilizers in seven districts of the northern region.