Women and Girls

In honor of International Women's Month, we are highlighting three programs incubated by the WJP that address the rights of women and girls. With seed grants and support from the WJP, these programs are helping to break down barriers that women and girls face in accessing justice.

At the World Justice Forum IV in The Hague on July 2013, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg moderated a Keynote Conversation: Women Leadership in Rule of Law with former Chief Justice of Brazil, Ellen Gracie Northfleet, and Nobel laureate and Iranian judge Dr. Shirin Ebadi.

Team Leader of The GUERREIRASPROJECT (GP), Ms. Caitlin D. Fisher was a speaker on the “Sport and the Rule of Law” panel during World Justice Forum IV. Focusing on gender education and rights training through the lens of futebol, The GUERREIRASPROJECT’s primary demographic is young women (15-35) and their communities.

(This concludes a two-part series on land rights and the rule of law, as shared with us by WJP Strategic Partner Landesa.) During my two decades of work as a promoter of good governance and the Rule of Law, I have seen interest in the field ebb and flow. In the 60s and 70s, the Law and Development Movement centered on developing the Rule of Law progressively and with limited support from bilateral donors or international organizations.

(Following is the first post in a two-part series on land rights and the rule of law, as shared with us by WJP Strategic Partner Landesa.) More than 17 million rural families—children, women and men—across India are invisible. They are invisible to the government and to society because they do not own any land. They do not appear in any government records and that means they cannot access a wide variety of existing and new government services.

The practice of female genital cutting, or female genital mutilation (FGC/M), has been in existence for centuries. Although oftentimes associated with Islam, the practice does not fall under Sharia law and is not practiced by many Islamic groups. Additionally, many non-Muslim communities utliize the practice.

Rape and sexual abuse is a threat that hangs over women wherever they live in the world. But in some countries that threat is more terrible because that violence is much more likely to occur. It takes a lot of work and much courage to try to change the culture that breeds it, to educate people to understand that sexual violence in all its forms is abhorrent, and that these atrocities must be prevented at all costs. The High Court of Kenya has recently taken such an admirable step. 

While gender equality is enshrined in the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights, in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and in legislation in most countries, women’s conditions of participation in markets and their rewards from that participation, still remain woefully unequal to men’s.  

As we reflect on labor rights and workers during the month of May, pause and consider what the working world looks like to someone who cannot see, or hear, or move easily from place to place. Justice Rising contributor Stephanie Ortoleva was recently at the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity in Hawaii, where she delivered this excellent keynote on the obstacles facing women with disabilities in both education and employment as they enter the STEM fields.

One of the intended uses of the WJP Rule of Law Index is as an action planning tool for global civil society. The Rule of Law Index truly comes alive when citizens are given the opportunity to analyze information and shape implementation with their own aspirations and situational context.

Why are women being excluded from more profitable aspects of agriculture in Cote d’Ivoire? My colleagues and I were surrounded by women dressed in their best. Their colorful, patterned pagnes, or cloth wraps, were everywhere I turned in the village of Kouadioyaokro, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). I was in West Africa in January to listen to women cocoa farmers about their roles in the supply chains that result in my favorite chocolate treats.

The Justice Rising Blog aims to highlight grassroots projects that are striving to advance the rule of law. If you would like to highlight your project or organization, send us an email at [email protected]! Name Of Organization: East-West Management Institute, funded by USAID Project Title:  Program on Rights and Justice in Cambodia II (PRAJ II) Project Location:  Cambodia

In September 2000, world leaders unanimously adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a series of specific targets for poverty eradication, universal primary school enrollment, gender equality, reduction in child and maternal mortality, combating major disease and ensuring environmental sustainability. The MDGs galvanized developing countries and their international partners to take concrete and tangible steps towards achieving these targets, with some remarkable progress along the way.

As we continue to celebrate the social, political, and economic progress made by women all around the world, as well as acknowledge the remaining challenges, take a look at an organization working to level the playing field for women - both literally and metaphorically.