2017-07-20

Deir Al-Balah

Gaza

As part of its legal clinic program, MUSAWA conducted a number of field visits to give legal consultations in cooperation with the Lawyers for the Rule of Law Groups (Friends of MUSAWA) and the Palestinian Human Rights Defenders’ Network (PHRDs).  In this context, a workshop about the Personal Status Law was held as well. Believing in the vitality of networking with other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the workshop was carried-out at the Al-Aqsa Youth Association in the city of Deir Al-Balah. A total of 25 participants attended the workshop, all of whom are women.

The workshop came as a continuation of the legal aid program MUSAWA implements at various levels. MUSAWA believes in the need to spread the legal culture and the culture of human rights among the Palestinian society, especially in marginalized areas, and to contribute to enhancing the legal awareness of the community in order to enable the community groups to identify their rights and the legal mechanisms available for them to protect these rights.

The workshop was facilitated by MUSAWA’s Legal Training and Awareness Officer, Adv. Momen Al-Hattab, and a member of the Lawyers for the Rule of Law Groups, Adv. Hala Hasanein.

The workshop aimed mainly at introducing the participants to the Personal Status Law in the Gaza Strip; the types and consequences of marriage; the rights that accompany a marriage contract; and the types and consequent rights of divorce, such as the period of waiting (Iddah) and deferred dowry. The facilitators made reference to the Ottoman Personal Status Law, the Family Rights Law, and the judicial circulars issued by the Sharia Judicial Council.

At the end of the workshop, the participants gave recommendations to demand the amendment of the Personal Status Law and the Family Rights Law so as to add a more modern nature to it; conduct legal and social workshops and awareness sessions for women; demand that the age for marriage be raised; and hold trainings and programs to educate young couples on their rights. To conclude, the facilitators gave space for the attendees to ask questions and gave them legal advice in return.

This workshop comes as part of the mobile legal clinic program, executed by MUSAWA both in the West Bank and Gaza.