EWLA assists women, particularly disadvantaged women, who are victims of gender-based violence.
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EWLA legal aid service is provided by 16 employees and 300 hundred volunteers.
The Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) is a non-profit women’s advocacy group founded by Ethiopian women lawyers. It began its work in 1996 after registered in 1995. It has been re-registered as a Local organization by the Charities and Societies Agency in 2019 as per the Civil Society Organization Proclamation 1113/2019. Since its establishment in 1996 through its three major programs (legal research, public education and legal aid),
EWLA has been addressing the issue of violence against women among many other issues. It has also made successful advocacy work which brought about law reforms on the family law, pension law and the criminal code which now has separately addressed domestic violence as a crime. The extensive public education works have helped increase awareness on the rights of women and response/support mechanisms.
This service is a crucial step in helping women and girls start to climb the steps to get access to legal response mechanisms and to demand their rights. EWLA is the place where they get relief.
Learn MoreThe public awareness programs conducted by EWLA are believed to produce a society less tolerant of any gender-based violence perpetrated against women.
Learn MoreEWLA undertakes research projects that are often used as a basis for advocacy, legal reform and related programs. This greatly helps to identify root causes of gender discrimination which in turn can dictate prevention efforts.
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Since its establishment in 1996 through its three major programs EWLA has been addressing the issue of gender equality, women empowerment and violence against women among many other issues. EWLA has helped women access justice which is crucial to attain gender equality. Until now, over 200,000 women and double number of children have accessed justice through the legal aid service provided by EWLA.
The extensive public education works have helped increase awareness on the rights of women and response/support mechanisms. Over 80000 persons have been directly participated in the awareness creation and capacity building workshops and training sessions organized by EWLA and over 5 million people have been reached through awareness creation media programs.
Vision:EWLA has a vision to see a country where women are equal to men.
Mission:EWLA’s mission is promoting the economic, political, social and legal rights of women and to that end assist them to secure full protection of their rights under the Constitution of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and other international human rights conventions.
EWLA has its head office in Addis Ababa and six branches in Adama/Nazareth, Assosa, Bahir Dar, Diredawa, Gambella and Hawassa. The branch/regional offices are supported by 53 trained voluntary committees organized at woreda and zonal levels providing structures to reach women at grass root level in Ethiopia.
